Rare Earths Trouble

(7 photos)
  • Zeng Guohui, 41, revisits the abandoned heavy heavy rare earths mine of Guyun village where he used to work, Heyuan city, Huizhou, China, Dec. 8, 2009. During its three-year run, the mine exhausted the local deposit of heavy heavy rare earths, causing dire damage to the downstream farmland.
  • Zeng Guohui, 41, revisits the abandoned heavy heavy rare earths mine of Guyun village where he used to work, Heyuan city, Huizhou, China, Dec. 8, 2009. During its three-year run, the mine exhausted the local deposit of heavy heavy rare earths, causing dire damage to the downstream farmland.
  • Dirt pits and mud slides at the abandoned heavy rare earths mine of Guyun village in Heyuan city, Huizhou, China, Dec. 8, 2009.
  • The abandoned heavy rare earths mine of Guyun village in Heyuan city, Huizhou, China, Dec. 8, 2009.
  • Worker's dormitories at the abandoned heavy rare earths mine of Guyun village in Heyuan city, Huizhou, China, Dec. 8, 2009.
  • Broken machinery at the abandoned heavy rare earths mine of Guyun village in Heyuan city, Huizhou, China, Dec. 8, 2009.
  • Zeng Guohui, 41, revisits the abandoned heavy heavy rare earths mine of Guyun village where he used to work, Heyuan city, Huizhou, China, Dec. 8, 2009. During its three-year run, the mine exhausted the local deposit of heavy heavy rare earths, causing dire damage to the downstream farmland.

Some of the world's greenest technologies are made possible by rare earths, an unusual group of elements in fast rising demand. A major concern, however, is that rare earths come almost all from China -- from some of the most environmentally damaging mines in the country.

At a shut down rare earths mine near Guyun village in southeastern China, the environmental damage was apparent: Red-brown scars of barren clay ran down narrow valleys; the topsoil was scraped off and acids...
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