List of Natural Resources articles
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Rectangular yellow, green, and blue pools are shown from an aerial view in the desert. Can South American Lithium Power Biden’s Battery Plans?
Washington needs lithium—but its history of intervention in the region complicates things.
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A Fulani displaced man works with his son to rebuild their hut in the camp for displaced people of Faladie in Bamako on April 29, 2020. Ethnic Killings by West African Armies Are Undermining Regional Security
By joining hands with militias that target Fulani civilians, state forces risk sparking a wider conflict.
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An aerial view of brine ponds and processing areas of a Chilean lithium mine China’s Latin American Gold Rush Is All About Clean Energy
Beijing’s not after gold—but lithium.
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A Greenlandic flag flutters on a boat sailing among icebergs floating in Disko Bay, Ilulissat, western Greenland, on June 28. How Greenland’s Mineral Wealth Made It a Geopolitical Battleground
Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory is coveted by China, the United States, and global mining companies.
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Workers stand on a roadside near a 'toxic lake' surrounded by rare earth refineries near the Chinese city of Baotou in August 2012. NIMBYism Is a Strategic Threat
Western countries’ reluctance to allow rare-earth mining at home is cementing dependence on China.
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A man in a hard hat watches a conveyor belt loaded with bright blue chunks of raw cobalt. How to Avoid a New Cold War Over Critical Minerals
To prevent a return to the zero-sum logic of Cold War resource politics, critical mineral supply chains must be widened at every step.
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A closeup of a silicon wafer on display at Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institution on September 16, 2022 in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The Battle Over Semiconductors Is Endangering Taiwan
TSMC is an economic boon, but its success makes China covet the industry while its natural resource consumption reduces resilience.
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A worker climbs through a copper and cobalt mine, materials used in production of electric cars, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What Do Electric Cars Really Cost?
“Volt Rush” examines the price of a dirty green business—and China’s role.
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Afghan miners work. ‘The Taliban Have Picked Up the Resource Curse’
The Taliban are strip-mining their mineral wealth to fund factional power grabs.
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Men in Kabul's Deh Sabz district work on the back of a coal truck. Taliban Wage War Over Coal in Northern Afghanistan
The battle for cash pits the Kabul extremists against Hazara locals.
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A digger descends into a copper and cobalt mine in Kawama, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on June 8, 2016. Green Energy’s Dirty Secret: Its Hunger for African Resources
The scramble for battery metals threatens to replicate one of the most destructive dynamics in global economic history.
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The sun sets on a deep-sea mining vessel Race to the Bottom: Deep-Sea Mining Is the Next Frontier
The untapped trove of metals on the ocean floor might be the key to a greener future—or an environmental catastrophe.
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An Afghan worker works on the site of an ancient monastery discovered in Mes Aynak, in the eastern province of Logar on Nov. 23, 2010. The archaeological dig is located at the world's second-biggest unexploited copper mine. China Wants Its Investments in Afghanistan to Be Safer Than in Pakistan
Beijing could profit handsomely from Afghan resources and exports, but new ventures risk exposing Chinese nationals to violence.
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Ukrainian coal mine Russia’s Resource Grab in Ukraine
Ukraine’s extraordinary riches in energy, minerals, and agriculture are a prize for the Kremlin.
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A Japanese microprocessor factory Putin’s War Threatens Microchips, Teeth, and Beer
Russia’s invasion has torn asunder oil and agricultural markets. But there’s lots more economic carnage on the way.
