Villagers in flip-flops wore straw hats, carrying banners that read, "Return the land to me."

It was one day in July. They were farmers from Yulin village, Guangxi province, southern China, where a state-owned enterprise was about to pour acid into large holes to exploit one of its resources. China's most important: rare earth.

Rare-earth is a group of 17 elements, sometimes found in uranium-containing minerals, which are very important for high-tech products such as smartphones, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. or military equipment like missile systems.

They are called "rare" not because they are difficult to find, but because the extraction and extraction process is very expensive and toxic. Over the past two decades, China has dominated the global rare earth production industry through strong investments in rare earth mining and extraction but has not fully implemented environmental protection measures.

By turning a blind eye to environmental and human health costs, major manufacturers have helped support the expansion of China's rare earth market, while at the same time reaping huge profits from animal costs. Relatively low investment.

The consequences of this process are truly terrible. In mineral-rich regions of China, contaminated water and soil have caused an unusually high rate of the disease in "cancer villages," where poor people cannot move elsewhere. .

Plants and animals cannot live around a radioactive black hole formed by the waste of a large mining mine in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The black mud pit is so large that one can see it through satellite imagery.

Beijing says it is taking steps to crack down on illegal fishing and monitor operations at six state-owned companies. But in Guangxi, villagers protested that state-owned enterprises were even worse than illegal rare-earth mining companies because they could poison land and air with the support of the local government. Phuong.

Qin Yongpei, a lawyer in Nanning, has been monitoring developments related to rare earth since 2015. He is relying on lawyers from all over China to support the villagers of Yulin.

In 2008, a company named Chinalco Guangxi Yulin Rare Earth Development Co. Ltd. began carrying out mining activities around an unfinished under construction highway near Chung Son district, Guangxi, saying they were reclaiming resources from the land for recycling. But the company continued to exploit it many years after the road was completed.

Local people say they often smell the strong sulfur and water from the polluted pits that have seeped into their farms and villages. In 2015, people protested. But 15 protesters in Chung Son were arrested that year and another 10 were arrested in 2017 on charges of "provoking quarrels and disturbances".

In Ngoc Lam, more than 10 protesters were arrested in May 2018 when villagers refused to let the company exploit more rare earth.

Rare earth is an important resource. This makes local governments reluctant to act against state-owned mining companies, Qin said.

"Rare earth is a privileged resource," Qin commented. "Other minerals are obtained with a license from the local government, while a rare earth mining license comes from the central government."

Rare earth became the focus of global attention in May after the White House announced an increase in tariffs on goods imported from China. At that time, Chinese President Xi Jinping personally visited a rare earth permanent magnet factory in Jiangxi province.

Chinese state-run media signaled that Beijing could restrict rare earth exports to put pressure on US companies, warning "anyone who wants to use rare earth imported from China to fight China." Quoc, Chinese people will not agree. "

Last year, China accounted for about 71% of global rare earth production. From 2014 to 2018, China provided 80% of US rare earth imports. Experts say illegal rare earth mines in China are even more available through the black market.

According to analysts, the key to China's advantage in the rare earth market lies not in government investments, but in the fact that it has no means to minimize the burdens of pollution. experience.

Chemicals used to exploit rare earths erode bones and teeth. When rare earth is mined with other metals, the process can contaminate water with radioactive residues, said Eric Liu, an environmental campaigner at Greenpeace in Beijing.

"Wherever there is surface water or groundwater, all the dangerous materials will soak into the areas around the mine and all nearby farms," he said. "They also pour chemical acid directly into the soil."

According to Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs, despite knowing the impact of the rare earth mining process, many rural people "have no other choice" than to live in contaminated area.

"They dug the well until they couldn't dig any deeper. Everyday activities depended on the well. And then they got sick," Ma said.

The Chinese government estimates it will cost US $ 5.5 billion to address environmental damage after years of widespread illegal rare earth mining in Jiangxi.

Some environmentalists believe that rare earths should be considered conflict minerals, like "blood diamonds," especially in the context of rising demand.

"If it's an Apple shareholder or any company that uses rare earth in its products, they need to weigh all the risks. This is not just a disruption of supply, but also a related issue. to reputation, "commented Liu Hongqiao, a researcher who published reports on rare earth pollution.

Yulin villagers said they had stopped sending their children to school as a way to protest the rare earth mining. "We don't even have land and clean water. So what are we going to school for?", They said. "What is the price of wealth and power? They are ruining the lives of the people. If you are a strong country, you should support and protect the weak, don't ask them to sacrifice for you." .