A Conflict in Chile Over Minerals Needed for Clean Energy

A mining venture that improves the environment?  That’s the image Aclara Resources, a Peruvian mining company seeking to extract rare earth elements in the BioBio region of Chile, tries to project. Highlighting that the minerals will go into such clean-energy mainstays as wind turbines and electric cars, the company publicizes itself as fighting climate change by advancing a green transition—all while using an extraction process that protects and replenishes resources like water and trees. Not so, according to residents, who rejected the project by 99 percent in a community vote…. Central to contemporary electronics are 17 metallic elements known collectively as “rare earth elements” (REE).  REE are used to build electronic devices such as smartphones, computer hard drives, and electronic displays. They are also used for military and space equipment such as drones, aircraft, and missile guidance systems.  As the project’s water supply comes from the Penco and El Cabrito estuaries, the mine would impact residents’ access to water…. The project will advance deforestation. Moreover, the project will disturb the local ecosystem, which is home to unspoiled estuaries that provide water to unique and endangered animals like the four-eyed frog and masked toads… They claim that because the presence of rare earths prevents native plants from flourishing, the project’s removal of rare earths, along with predatory trees, and replacement with native trees will improve the environment.