It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, January 14, 2022
Malaysia concerned about Cambodian leader's Myanmar trip Cambodia's strongman ruler Hun Sen made the first trip by a foreign leader to Myanmar since a coup last year (AFP/TANG CHHIN Sothy)
Fri, January 14, 2022, 12:54 AM·2 min read
Malaysia's foreign minister has expressed concerns about Cambodia's prime minister visiting Myanmar without first consulting fellow Southeast Asian leaders, highlighting regional tensions in how to deal with the crisis-hit country.
Last week, Cambodia's strongman ruler Hun Sen made the first trip by a foreign leader to Myanmar since a coup last year that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government.
Critics said the visit by Hun Sen, whose country holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), risked legitimising the junta and undermining efforts to isolate the generals.
Speaking to reporters late Thursday, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said Malaysia was "of the opinion that (Hun Sen) has the right to visit Myanmar as head of government of Cambodia".
"However, we also feel that as he has already assumed the chair of ASEAN, he could have probably consulted the other ASEAN leaders and seek their views as to what he should do if he were to go to Myanmar."
Malaysia has been among several ASEAN states, alongside Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, which have strongly criticised the military takeover.
The bloc's foreign ministers were supposed to hold talks in Cambodia next week, but that meeting was postponed.
Saifuddin downplayed suggestions this was due to tensions over Myanmar, insisting it was because of scheduling issues and coronavirus concerns.
ASEAN has sought to help Myanmar, agreeing to a "five-point consensus" last year aimed at defusing the crisis, but the generals have shown little sign of changing course.
More than 1,400 civilians have been killed as the military cracks down on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.
In October, the bloc took the highly unusual step of excluding junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from a summit in response to an ASEAN envoy being denied a meeting with Suu Kyi.
But Hun Sen met the military leader during his visit, and has insisted the trip could have a positive impact.
pl-sr/axn
Drones spray holy water at India Hindu festival as huge crowds defy Covid rules
"Death is the ultimate truth. What is the point of living with fear?"
Huge crowds defied Covid rules to take a dip in the Ganges river at a Hindu festival in eastern India (AFP/DIBYANGSHU SARKAR) Dibyangshu SARKAR Fri, January 14, 2022, 1:44 AM·3 min read
Drones sprayed holy water from the Ganges on thousands of Hindu pilgrims on Friday to reduce crowding during a massive festival being held despite soaring Covid cases in India.
The Gangasagar Mela in the east of the country has drawn comparisons with another "superspreader" Hindu gathering last year that the Hindu nationalist government refused to ban. It was blamed in part for a devastating Covid surge.
Officials had said they expected around three million people -- including ash-smeared, dreadlocked ascetics -- to attend the festival's climax on Sagar Island, where the Ganges meets the Bay of Bengal.
"At the crack of dawn, there was a sea of people," local official Bankim Hazra told AFP by telephone.
"Holy water from the river Ganges was sprayed from drones on pilgrims... to prevent crowding," he said.
"But the saints and a large number of people were bent on taking the dip... Pilgrims, most of them without masks, outnumbered the security personnel."
An AFP photographer said that there were fewer people than in recent years and that rain put off some pilgrims from making the journey.
But there were still huge crowds, mostly without masks, taking a holy dip in the river.
A police official on duty at the event said that it was "impossible" to enforce Covid restrictions.
"Most pilgrims are bent on defying the rules," he said.
"They believe that God will save them and bathing at the confluence will cleanse all their sins and even the virus if they are infected."
- No lockdown -
Fatalities from India's current wave of infections remain a fraction of what they were during the surge in April and May last year, with 315 deaths recorded Thursday compared with as many as 4,000 per day at the peak.
Infections are rising fast, however, with almost 265,000 new cases on Thursday. Some models predict India could experience as many as 800,000 cases per day in a few weeks, twice the rate seen nine months ago.
Keen to avoid another painful lockdown for millions of workers reliant on a few dollars in daily wages, authorities in different parts of India have sought to restrict gatherings.
In New Delhi, all bars, restaurants and private offices are shut and the capital is set to go into its second weekend curfew on Friday night.
In the financial capital Mumbai, gatherings of more than four people are banned.
But in West Bengal state, the Calcutta High Court on Friday allowed the Gangasagar Mela to proceed.
As with 2021's Kumbh Mela, it has attracted people from across northern India who, after cramming onto trains, buses and boats to reach the island, will then go home -- potentially taking the highly transmissible Omicron virus variant with them.
Amitava Nandy, a virologist from the School of Tropical Medicines in Kolkata, said the government "has neither the facilities nor the manpower" to test everyone attending or impose social distancing.
"A stampede-like situation could happen if the police try to enforce social distancing on the river bank," Nandy told AFP.
Devotee Sarbananda Mishra, a 56-year-old school teacher from the neighbouring state of Bihar, told AFP: "Faith in God will overcome the fear of Covid. The bathing will cleanse them of all their sins and bring salvation."
"Death is the ultimate truth. What is the point of living with fear?"
str-stu/qan
South Africa: Clinic for penguins opens in Cape Town
Penguins have lived in South Africa for millions of years but the adorable little birds are in danger. The population of the Cape Penguins has dropped by half in the past two decades because of climate change. A new clinic just opened in Cape Town to look after the penguins population.
Too many gorillas? 'Great apes' struggle for space in Rwanda
With hundreds of mountain gorillas in residence, the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is a conservation triumph. But the animals' resurgence is not without consequences, as the majestic creatures find themselves struggling for space to grow and thrive. In a bid to address the issue, Rwanda plans to expand the park, adding 23 percent more surface area over the next decade.
Too many gorillas? The great apes' hunt for space in Rwanda
by Marion Douet
A silverback mountain gorilla from the Muhoza family sits in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.
A huge male silverback gorilla nibbles on a tasty bamboo shoot before farting loudly, oblivious to his neighbours—farmers working fertile fields a stone's throw away.
With hundreds of mountain gorillas in residence, the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is a conservation triumph. But this resurgence is not without consequences, as the majestic creatures now struggle for space to grow and thrive.
Straddling Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Virunga range includes eight volcanoes in the heart of Africa's densely populated Great Lakes region and is, along with Uganda's Bwindi Forest, the world's only habitat for mountain gorillas.
Officials at the Rwandan park are proud of its success in regenerating the primate population.
"In the census we did in 2010, these mountain gorillas were 880; in 2015 we did another census that showed we have 1,063" in the Virunga massif and the Bwindi park, ranger Felicien Ntezimana told AFP, before leading a hike into the mist-covered forest where the animals live.
Thanks to this revival, the mountain gorilla, known for its thick, shiny fur, is now listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while other great apes remain "critically endangered".
The animal has come a long way since the 1980s when decades of poaching caused its population to plunge to just 250 across the Virunga range, and famed American primatologist Dian Fossey was murdered in the Rwandan park allegedly because of her anti-poaching efforts.
The mountain gorilla is now listed as 'endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature rather than 'critically endangered'
Stronger security measures and efforts to win over local villagers have helped turn the mountain gorilla's fortunes around.
Today, 10 percent of the cost of each $1,500 park ticket goes towards community projects while five percent is allocated to a compensation fund for villagers.
Far from being hated and feared as they were in the past, the gorillas are now seen as key to the community's financial future, says Jean-Baptiste Ndeze, an elderly inhabitant of Musanze, a town bordering the park.
"Tourists throw money at them, which... comes back to us in the form of food, shelter and good livelihood," he told AFP.
Infanticide and disease
While the tourism sector contributed $25 million to Rwanda's economy pre-pandemic, the park's success in conservation has led to unforeseen consequences.
Twenty-five years ago, the Rwandan authorities were monitoring about 100 apes in the forest. Today, about 380 gorillas call it home, according to an official count.
A local man displays souvenirs for sale at the entrance of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.
As a result of tourism and interaction with researchers, the primates are accustomed to humans, and they are increasingly unafraid to venture into populated areas as their own habitat grows cramped.
"We have seen gorillas more frequently coming out of the park and looking for food outside... also they tend to move further away from the edge of the park," said Felix Ndagijimana, who heads the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda.
The results can be dire.
The powerfully built animal—an adult male can weigh up to 200 kilogrammes (440 pounds)—is vulnerable to human diseases such as influenza, pneumonia and Ebola.
Rising gorilla numbers have also raised the likelihood of fights between the primates which can often prove fatal for the species' youngest members.
After seeing population growth slow a decade ago, Ndagijimana and his colleagues carried out a study which showed a staggering five-fold increase in infanticides.
"Infanticides are a big problem because it can have a huge negative impact in the gorillas' population increase," he told AFP.
The primates are now more accustomed to humans.
Displacement
The problem is much more pronounced in Rwanda than in neighbouring countries.
Only one gorilla family lives on the Ugandan side of the Virunga range, while the Congolese park is "huge" compared with the Rwandan forest, says Benjamin Mugabukomeye from the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, a regional organisation.
In a bid to address the issue, Rwanda plans to extend its park, adding 23 percent more surface area over the next decade.
The ambitious project is due to start next year and will displace around 4,000 farmer households.
"It's a process we are undertaking very, very carefully," park director Prosper Uwingeli told AFP, adding that officials were conducting feasibility studies and designing detailed relocation sites.
The authorities intend to compensate the displaced families and house them in newly constructed "model villages"—with a prototype already visible in Musanze.
Stronger security measures and efforts to win over local villagers have helped turn the mountain gorilla's fortunes around.
In addition to a huge school and a poultry farm, the village includes immaculate, fully furnished brick apartments—with the government insisting that the move will benefit displaced farmers.
Although they may have little choice but to comply with an authoritarian state, some families living on the edge of the park are worried.
"This place is very fertile and it has enabled me to feed my family," one potato farmer told AFP.
Malians demonstrate en masse after junta calls for protests over sanctions
NEWS WIRES
Malians took to the streets by the thousands on Friday, AFP correspondents saw, after the military junta called for protests against stringent sanctions imposed by the West Africa bloc ECOWAS over delayed elections.
In the capital Bamako, thousands of people wearing the national colours of red, yellow and green gathered in a central square for a rally staged by the military government.
A large crowd also gathered in the northern city of Timbuktu, AFP correspondents reported. Social media also showed mass demonstrations in the towns of Kadiolo and Bougouni in the south.
Leaders from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) agreed to sanction Mali last week, imposing a trade embargo and shutting borders, in a decision later backed by France, the United States and the European Union.
The move followed a proposal by Mali's junta to stay in power for up to five years before staging elections – despite international demands that it respect a promise to hold the vote in February.
The junta cast the sanctions as "extreme" and "inhumane" and called for demonstrations.
Colonel Assimi Goita, who first took power in a coup in August 2020, has also urged Malians to "defend our homeland".
On Friday, his office said the interim government had developed a "response plan" to the potentially crippling sanctions, without specifying details.
It added that the government remained open to dialogue with regional institutions and did not intend to engage in "arm-wrestling".
As well as closing borders and imposing a trade embargo, ECOWAS leaders also halted financial aid to Mali and froze the country's assets at the Central Bank of West African States.
The sanctions threaten to damage an already vulnerable economy in landlocked Mali, one of the world's poorest countries.
A brutal jihadist insurgency has also raged in Mali since 2012, with swathes of the vast country's territory lying outside of government control. 'Cut off'
Mali is already beginning to feel the effects of the sanctions. Several airlines, including Air France, have suspended flights to Bamako.
The country is also at risk of cash shortages. Kako Nubukpo, a commissioner at the West African Economic and Monetary Union, said that it is "cut off from the rest of the world".
France, Mali's former colonial master, and the United States have both stated their support for the ECOWAS sanctions.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel said on Thursday that Brussels will follow ECOWAS in taking action against Mali over delayed elections.
The same day, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it is "absolutely essential that the government of Mali present an acceptable election timetable".
Despite the international pressure, many in Mali have rallied behind the military junta, with nationalist messages flooding social media.
Mali's relations with its neighbours and partners have steadily deteriorated since a coup led by Goita in August 2020 against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Under threat of sanctions following that putsch, Goita had promised to hold presidential and legislative elections, and to restore civilian rule by February 2022.
But he staged a de facto second coup in May 2021, forcing out an interim civilian government and disrupting the timetable to restore democracy.
Goita also declared himself interim president.
His government has argued that rampant insecurity in Mali prevents it from organising safe elections by the end of February.
(AFP)
Tunisians defy ban on gatherings to protest against president in capital
Demonstrators are hit by a water cannon during a protest in Tunis against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of governing powers on January 14, 2022.
Tunisian police used tear gas and water cannons on Friday to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who defied a ban on gatherings to protest against President Kais Saied's July power grab.
As the country marks 11 years since the late dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled into exile, police deployed heavily in central Tunis to counter anti-Saied rallies calling for an end to his "coup".
The protesters had gathered despite restrictions on gatherings imposed on Thursday as coronavirus cases surge in the North African country, but which Saied's opponents say are politically motivated.
AFP reporters saw over 1,000 protesters gathered on Mohamed V Avenue, but they were prevented from reaching the iconic Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the vast protests that toppled Ben Ali in 2011.
Some demonstrators broke through a police cordon before police baton charges and tear gas and water cannons pushed them back.
AFP reporters saw dozens of arrests.
"It's the most violent intervention by security forces we've seen in the past year, both in terms of the methods used and the number of arrests," said Fathi Jarai, president of the independent anti-torture body the INPT.
Some protesters had chanted "down with the coup!", a reference to Saied's July 25 moves in which he sacked the government, froze parliament and seized a range of powers.
He has since virtually ruled by decree, to the outrage of his opponents, including the powerful Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party.
Some Tunisians, tired of the inept and graft-ridden parliamentary system, welcomed his moves.
But for his critics, both among Ennahdha members and on the left, they foreshadowed a possible return to the same kind of autocratic practices that were common under Ben Ali.
Prominent human rights activist Sihem Bensedrine, who headed the now-defunct Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD), accused authorities of taking away Tunisians' right to protest and threatening the country's "hard-won freedom".
"We're here to defend the institutions of the republic," she said.
"This people, which toppled a 23-year dictatorship, is not going to let another dictator take its place."
'Working for Sisi'
One of Saied's moves was to shift the official anniversary of the revolution from the date of Ben Ali's flight to December 17, the day in 2010 when vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi burned himself alive sparking the first mass protests.
The move was seen as symbolising Saied's view that the revolution had been stolen.
Sofiane Ferhani, whose sister died in the revolution, said Saied had no right to "touch" the January 14 anniversary.
"We won't let him do it, this day is too dear to us," he said.
Ennahdha supporters have compared Saied to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose crackdown on Islamist demonstrators in 2013 left hundreds dead.
One woman protester told a policeman on Friday: "You're working for Sisi and the United Arab Emirates!"
The protests took place despite a string of measures, including a nighttime curfew and a ban on public gatherings, brought in on Thursday evening purportedly to tackle a steep rise in coronavirus infections.
Ennahdha, the biggest party in the suspended parliament, on Thursday accused Saied of "utilising the coronavirus crisis for political ends, targeting what remains of the margin of freedom" in Tunisia.
The showdown comes amid heightened tensions between the party and Saied after former justice minister Noureddine Bhiri and another senior Ennhadha official were arrested by plainclothes police officers on December 31 and later accused of possible "terrorism" offences.
(AFP)
Brazil begins vaccinating young children despite Bolsonaro objection Brazil begins vaccinating young children despite Bolsonaro objectionA child receives a Covid-19 vaccine in Brazil's Sao Paulo with local governor Joao Doria (L) looking on
(AFP/NELSON ALMEIDA)
Fri, January 14, 2022,
Brazil began vaccinating children aged five to 11 against Covid-19 on Friday after the move was approved despite objections from President Jair Bolsonaro.
Davi Seremramiwe Xavante, an indigenous eight-year-old boy, was the first child to be vaccinated during an official ceremony at a Sao Paulo hospital, with the state governor Joao Doria in attendance.
The first Covid vaccine dose administered in Brazil was also in Sao Paulo, in January 2021.
The new age group was approved for vaccination by Anvisa health authorities a month ago.
More than 20 million children are eligible for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, as long as they have parental consent.
Indigenous people and children with health problems are priority groups for vaccination.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly criticized the move and has insisted he would never vaccinate his 11-year-old daughter, Laura.
Himself unvaccinated, Bolsonaro caused a storm when he asked to have the names of those responsible for approving the move made public.
An association representing Anvisa officials blasted Bolsonaro's "fascist methods" and the authority's president demanded police protection for staff following threats.
According to official health ministry figures, more than 300 children aged five to 11 have died from Covid in Brazil, among a total of 620,000 deaths from the disease in the country of 213 million.
The number of new cases has exploded since the emergence of the Omicron variant in late November.
Daily new cases on Thursday were just under 100,000, having been less than 6,000 two weeks ago.
raa-lg/pt/mr/bc
Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton have highest immigrant retention rates: StatsCan
The agency looked at immigrants who were admitted to Canada in 2014 and filed taxes in 2019.
Five years after being admitted to Canada, 86.1 per cent of immigrants who first settled there had stayed in Vancouver, which had the highest retention rate of any metropolitan area, followed by Toronto (85.5 per cent) and Edmonton (84.6 per cent).
Metropolitan areas, as defined by StatsCan, contain at least 100,000 residents, with at least 50,000 of them living in the core.
Vancouver also had the highest retention rate for family-sponsored immigrants and refugees while Edmonton had the highest for economic immigrants.
The data shows that most tax-filing immigrants stay in the province where they were admitted. More than 85 per cent of the immigrants who came to Canada in 2014 remained in the same province or territory of admission five years later. Provincially, Ontario had the highest retention rate (93.7 per cent), followed by British Columbia (89.7 per cent) and Alberta (89 per cent). Provinces in Atlantic Canada had the lowest rates. Only 28.1 per cent of immigrants stayed in Prince Edward Island.
The cities with the highest overall retention saw high rates for all of three immigration categories, but some other cities' rates were less even.
Montreal had high retention for family-sponsored immigrants and refugees, but a much lower for economic immigrants, and though Winnipeg retained 82 per cent of family-sponsored immigrants, its retention rate for refugees was about 40 per cent.
Employment an important factor
Marshia Akbar, a researcher at Ryerson University in Toronto, says social, economic and cultural factors influence migrants' mobility decisions, but employment and work experience is considered the most important factor.
The data shows immigrants who were admitted in 2014 with work permits were more likely to stay in their province or territory than those with study permits.
"They work there, they create a sense of belonging and because they already have work experience, it helps them to get another job so they don't necessarily feel the push to go to another province," said Akbar, a senior research associate at Ryerson's Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration.
Nathan Po, an immigration lawyer with McCuaig Desrochers in Edmonton, said he was not surprised to see retention rates above 80 per cent for Edmonton and Calgary. Calgary's rate was 82.9 per cent.
"A vast majority of my clients are looking to build a home here, and for the most part, they're still here," he said. He added that Alberta tends to have a higher percentage of foreign workers than some other provinces, which could be influencing retention rates.
Statistics Canada used data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database, which does not explain why people stay put. But Akbar and her colleagues are studying that question, examining why some migrants have stayed for more than 10 years in smaller cities and towns in Ontario and Saskatchewan.
This kind of data, Akbar said, can inform successful immigrant retention strategies.
"The friendliness of the community is one of the things that we would say is a way of keeping people to stay," said Josephine Allard, education program manager at Changing Together, a non-profit that helps immigrant women in Edmonton.
Allard, who immigrated to Canada from the Philippines more than 50 years ago, said some of the people she serves moved away, only to return to Edmonton after a few months, saying they feel more accepted in the city. Though most immigrants stay put in Edmonton, she said the biggest reason for leaving is foreign credentials not being recognized in Alberta.
"That's the only barrier that we have noticed from the clients that come here," she said.
THE NEW COLD WAR
Whoever controls the spice, controls the universe
From missile guidance systems to electric car batteries, China’s domination of rare earths has global implications. A worker at Xinwangda Electric Vehicle Battery Co Ltd, which
makes lithium batteries, Nanjing, China, March 2021
SAFE BECAUSE THEY ARE UNPLUGGED
(STR/AFP via Getty) Published 14 Jan 2022
MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M WHINES ABOUT MONOPOLY STATE CAPITALI$M
In the science-fiction classic Dune, the natural resource of “spice” represents the most valuable commodity in the universe, found only on the desert planet of Arrakis. Spice serves various purposes in Dune, but in both movie adaptations of the novel, Baron Harkonnen, former ruler of Arrakis, summarises its importance with the line: “He who controls the spice, controls the universe.”
While Dune has its share of spice, Earth contains its own spice rack, stocked with resources and commodities offering opportunities for those who control them and threats for those who do not. One state that has perhaps taken the words of Baron Harkonnen as encouragement in its resource strategy is China.
Beijing has implemented a long-term strategic plan for maximising the nation’s control over exploration, production, pricing and exports of natural resources that began with the creation of its first Five-Year Plan in 1953 and has allowed the state to “win without fighting”. This strategy still guides Chinese actions in regard to exploiting natural resources, one example being the acquisition of rare earth elements in regions around the world.
Latest figures show the United States relies on China for at least 80 per cent of its rare earths.
China is estimated to mine more than 70 per cent of the world’s rare earths, and is responsible for over 90 per cent of its refining and production. These elements are essential components in myriad forms of technology, including military equipment such as jet engines, missile guidance systems, anti-missile defence systems and satellites. Latest figures show the United States relies on China for at least 80 per cent of its rare earths, with China supplying 81 per cent of the world with its rare earth elements in 2017. China further holds a dominant position in supplying the United States with 21 of the 35 mineral commodities that Washington deems critical for its national security and economy. The United States is still attempting to extricate itself from this dependence on Beijing for critical commodities, a reliance that has led to vulnerabilities for the country and others in the past.
In 2010, Beijing halted rare earth exports to Japan for two months in response to Tokyo’s detainment of a Chinese fishing captain found near disputed East China Sea Islands. In 2021, China suggested halting exports to the United States as a test of how the country would produce fighter jets without rare earth supply and where the supply chain may shift as a result. Australia is relatively insulated from rare earth coercion, holding the sixth-largest reserves of rare earths in the world, much of which is untapped. That doesn’t mean that Australia’s military can’t be affected by poor quality Chinese metal or its reliance on other Beijing resources, such as the 2021 shortage of urea, another form of spice and an ingredient in the fluid needed by diesel trucks and agricultural machines.
China also has a history of creative forms of coercion, such as cutting tourism to certain countries, weaponising trade tariffs, and even halting trash processing. Attempts to diversify supply chains have run into further obstacles. Africa represents an opportunity for the supply of rare earth metals, but Beijing has already multiplied mining investment by Chinese entities on the continent 25 times in the period 2005–15. Much of this access to resources is tied to investment in infrastructure, which in turn links up with China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. A Chinese firm has a 51 per cent stake in the world’s largest lithium mine in Australia, which is all on top of China’s own large lithium reserves.
As the world moves towards generating sources of renewable energy and combatting climate change, Beijing is one step ahead. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, China has gained access to the largest untapped reserves of the key metal cobalt, an essential component in electric car batteries. Chinese companies have taken ownership of eight of the 14 largest cobalt mines in the country. Similar moves have been made in South America in an area known as the “Lithium Triangle”. The region rests on the borders of three countries into which Beijing has invested billions for the rights to mine lithium: Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, a nation described as the “new Saudi Arabia” for its potential in this component of electric car batteries.
Afghanistan offers a similar treasure trove of lithium, with Chinese firms seeking to take advantage of what may be the world’s largest lithium reserves worth an estimated $1 trillion or more. A Chinese firm has a 51 per cent stake in the world’s largest lithium mine in Australia, which is all on top of China’s own large lithium reserves. This domination of resources has come at the cost of the health of local workers, communities and environments around which their mining operations take place, as well as accusations of widespread graft.
Dependence on supply chains with Beijing at the on/off switch is a dangerous position and one that nations will need to adapt to in order to avoid the vulnerability of coercion. China has put itself ahead of the game in a natural resource strategy that brings to mind words from another classic of science fiction: “intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.”RACIST JINGOISM
Bogdanov’s Mars is an opportunity to create an outside from which to examine the givens that are taken for granted on Earth. On Earth, on the other hand, the division of the whole planet into component parts created an initial blissful ignorance; individual cultures could live without concern for one another.
It's not necessary to trash the environment to extract metals needed for renewable energy
John Steen, EY Distinguished Scholar in Global Mining Futures,
W. Scott Dunbar, Professor and Head of Department of Mining Engineering,
Davide Elmo, Associate Professor, Rock Mechanics,
University of British Columbia
The use of renewable energy systems, such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells, will minimize greenhouse gas emissions and reduce global warming. But use of these systems has to increase — and they require a lot of metal.
The World Bank estimates that about three billion tonnes of metals like graphite, lithium and cobalt will be needed by 2050 to supply enough systems to keep the global temperature rise below 2 C, a goal of the 2016 Paris Climate agreement. In comparison, only about one billion tonnes of metals would be needed by 2050 to satisfy current usage of renewable energy systems.
But this ignores a few things, such as the technology developments that could reduce the carbon footprint of extraction, the potential of a reorganization of the metal supply chain and the possibility of a closer relationship between society and the metals it uses.
Can we change mining technology to reduce its footprint? There is an active community of researchers that says yes. Here are some current avenues of investigation: Bacteria have been interacting with minerals for more than two billion years, decomposing the minerals and allowing the metals to dissolve into water. As a result, a mineral microbiome has evolved that could be used to develop natural ways of extracting metals and to clean up mine waste.
Greenhouse gas emissions at mining operations currently account for about 10 per cent of global emissions. That percentage will increase if we try to meet metals demands using current methods. Some operations are implementing renewable energy systems in efforts to further reduce this emission level.
Autonomous systems, some electrified, are in use at some mines, but there is more potential. One possibility is a large number of small machines — a swarm that behaves like an ant colony. This could enable targeted metal extraction with a far smaller footprint.
Metal extraction generates enormous amounts of information on the actual behaviour of a mining operation. Machine learning algorithms could find patterns in these data and use them to guide improvements to the operations and increase the recovery of mineral resources.
These are big ideas that will take time to fully develop. But we believe that a reorganization of the metal supply chain and better connections between society and the metals it uses can more quickly lead to sustainable metal supply. The first step is to unwrap the mineral resources industry to make it more transparent, visible and available to anyone.
Metal supply chains
The links in the metal value chain are suppliers who perform different services.
A mining company is one collection of suppliers. But an interesting alternative is a network consisting of several sources of metals such as mines, scrap metal, electronic waste, mine tailings and wastewater — all connected to processing plants, refineries, manufacturers and the related suppliers of materials and services.
Networks within networks are possible, and flexibility is required. One network might specialize in processing tailings to extract metals, another on processing mineral concentrates and another may be solely focused on recycling metals from scrap. Ownership and operation of any part of a network would be open to a company, group or community that has the knowledge and expertise.
Most innovation in the mining industry takes place among suppliers, and the presence of different suppliers in a network would be advantageous. A combination of competition among suppliers to take part in a network, and collaboration among suppliers in those networks, would promote innovation.
Many opportunities exist for the public to contribute to a flexible open metal supply network. Barriers to entry do exist, but they aren’t insurmountable, and there are advantages to removing them.
For example, in Canada, many mineral deposits are located on Indigenous lands. Parts of a network related to these mineral deposits could be operated/financed by a mining company or group of companies owned by an Indigenous community.
Some of the metals needed for renewable energy systems reside in small deposits that are geographically dispersed. Rare earth metals used in the magnets of motors in electric cars are one example. It’s too expensive to develop a mine for these deposits, but a flexible open network that uses services only as needed might be able to do economically.
Tough to separate metals
Recycling is another source of metals, but the combinations of materials in some products makes it difficult to separate the metals in them.
This calls for some innovation in processing. But the logistics of recycling are cumbersome, especially for clunky items containing metals such as an aircraft engine, an electric car or a few thousand disk drives. An open network that includes communities and logistics specialists in partnership with advanced recycling operations could be a sustainable source of metals.
Reuse or refurbishment of devices that contain metals is also possible as part of the circular economy. Co-ordination between device users and manufacturers would be required. But an open network of partnerships can accomplish this.
If we want to use renewable energy to keep the atmosphere cool, then mining processes and our current relationship with metals must change. Governments should implement policies that encourage those changes. Industry can also contribute by encouraging business partnerships and engagement with communities and other interested parties.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.
Scott Dunbar receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) under a Discovery Grant and from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) under an Insight Grant.
delmo@mining.ubc.ca receives funding from NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) and MITACS
John Steen owns shares in various mining companies as part of a personal investment portfolio. He currently receives research funding from a wide range of industry and government sources including NSERC, MITACS, Canadian Digital Technology Supercluster, EY, Vale, Rio Tinto, Teck, Allonia, FL Smidth and the Project Management Institute
