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It certainly depends on the industrial process as a whole. But it's worth pointing out that nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond

It certainly depends on the industrial process as a whole. But it's worth pointing out that nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond mining, nor about the unimaginable volumes of ore processed to acquire iron and copper. But somehow these days everyone likes to think that they know that rare earth metals are "the devil".

anononaut 4y ago
Gold, silver, and platinum are largely by products of zinc mining etc in recent decades.
- Eisenstein 4y ago
  Fun fact: 0.16% of global zinc mined in 2020 went to making US pennies. Source: 7,596,400,000 pennies made @ 2.5g each divided by 12.1Mt worldwide zinc production.
  - kwhitefoot 4y ago
    Surely it is time to abandon the US cent. They have been next to worthless for many years.
TeMPOraL 4y ago
> But somehow these days everyone knows that rare earth metals are "the devil". Of course. Everyone knows that rare-earth metal extraction involves ugly, environmentally destructive strip mining, and the metals themselves are primarily used to build components for first-world toys and gadgets, such as electronics and batteries in mobile phones, computers, or electric cars. In contrast, gold, silver, platinum and diamonds are extracted through perfectly ordinary environmentally destructive strip mining, and they have important applications such as jewelry, tax evasion and more jewelry, much of it critical to important industries such as the wedding industry.
dewey 4y ago
Not really sure what you are trying to say here. Criticizing gold and diamond mining isn't uncommon. A popular example coming to mind is the "Dirty Money" Netflix documentary series (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947154/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947154/). The existence of "Blood diamonds" is also a pretty commonly known fact. > But somehow these days everyone likes to think that they know that rare earth metals are "the devil". Many years ago people also thought smoking is healthy and asbestos are a great material to use in construction.
- daneel_w 4y ago
  "Not really sure what you are trying to say here." That there's an ongoing movement with common people and the media, almost a fashion, of yapping about the perils of lithium extraction from ore, despite most of it coming from brine evaporation. "Criticizing gold and diamond mining isn't uncommon." Yeah it is.
culi 4y ago
> nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond mining In what world? NGOs, academics, journalists, and non-profits have been speaking out about these and the blood diamond industries around them for decades at least > Gold mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. It can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments https://earthworks.org/issues/environmental-impacts-of-gold-mining/ https://earthworks.org/issues/environmental-impacts-of-gold-... > Most silver production results in large emissions of mercury to air, soil, and water. Where silver is extracted by small-scale miners, large quantities of mercury are used, resulting in large health and environmental damages. http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/silver_fact_sheet.pdf http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/silver_fact_sheet.pdf > The mining, metal extraction and beneficiation phases are accompanied by air and water pollution, the generation of solid waste deposited on tailings dams and waste rock stockpiles, the abstraction of vast quantities of water and the use of huge quantities of energy https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223232620_The_environmental_costs_of_platinum-PGM_mining_and_sustainability_Is_the_glass_half-full_or_half-empty https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223232620_The_envir... > Mineral resource exploitation also causes irreversible damage to the natural environment including deforestation, soil disturbance, air emissions, surface water pollution, groundwater contamination, dust, noise, workplace health and safety, and others. http://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-report-Environmental-Impacts-of-Mined-Diamonds.pdf http://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/202...
- daneel_w 4y ago
  I know there's a "clique" criticizing this. That's not my point, but thanks for trying to balance the needle on its tip. Ask common people and the media about gold, silver and platinum mining, and you'll get a careless shrug on the shoulders in return.
  - Eisenstein 4y ago
    Wouldn't 'most people' also shrug if you mentioned mining of rare earth minerals? I don't think there is a distinction except 'most people' know what gold and diamonds and platinum are.
zirgs 4y ago
Diamond mining is absolutely idiotic. We can grow them in a lab without any problems. And so much of them that we can put them on angle grinders and sell them at ordinary hardware stores. So why would anyone want a "real" diamond these days? Engagement/wedding ring is just not the same if it's made without spilling some poor African's blood or something?

anononaut 4y ago

Gold, silver, and platinum are largely by products of zinc mining etc in recent decades.

Eisenstein 4y ago
Fun fact: 0.16% of global zinc mined in 2020 went to making US pennies. Source: 7,596,400,000 pennies made @ 2.5g each divided by 12.1Mt worldwide zinc production.
- kwhitefoot 4y ago
  Surely it is time to abandon the US cent. They have been next to worthless for many years.

TeMPOraL 4y ago

> But somehow these days everyone knows that rare earth metals are "the devil". Of course. Everyone knows that rare-earth metal extraction involves ugly, environmentally destructive strip mining, and the metals themselves are primarily used to build components for first-world toys and gadgets, such as electronics and batteries in mobile phones, computers, or electric cars. In contrast, gold, silver, platinum and diamonds are extracted through perfectly ordinary environmentally destructive strip mining, and they have important applications such as jewelry, tax evasion and more jewelry, much of it critical to important industries such as the wedding industry.

dewey 4y ago

Not really sure what you are trying to say here. Criticizing gold and diamond mining isn't uncommon. A popular example coming to mind is the "Dirty Money" Netflix documentary series (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947154/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947154/). The existence of "Blood diamonds" is also a pretty commonly known fact. > But somehow these days everyone likes to think that they know that rare earth metals are "the devil". Many years ago people also thought smoking is healthy and asbestos are a great material to use in construction.

daneel_w 4y ago
"Not really sure what you are trying to say here." That there's an ongoing movement with common people and the media, almost a fashion, of yapping about the perils of lithium extraction from ore, despite most of it coming from brine evaporation. "Criticizing gold and diamond mining isn't uncommon." Yeah it is.

culi 4y ago

> nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond mining In what world? NGOs, academics, journalists, and non-profits have been speaking out about these and the blood diamond industries around them for decades at least > Gold mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. It can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments https://earthworks.org/issues/environmental-impacts-of-gold-mining/ https://earthworks.org/issues/environmental-impacts-of-gold-... > Most silver production results in large emissions of mercury to air, soil, and water. Where silver is extracted by small-scale miners, large quantities of mercury are used, resulting in large health and environmental damages. http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/silver_fact_sheet.pdf http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/silver_fact_sheet.pdf > The mining, metal extraction and beneficiation phases are accompanied by air and water pollution, the generation of solid waste deposited on tailings dams and waste rock stockpiles, the abstraction of vast quantities of water and the use of huge quantities of energy https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223232620_The_environmental_costs_of_platinum-PGM_mining_and_sustainability_Is_the_glass_half-full_or_half-empty https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223232620_The_envir... > Mineral resource exploitation also causes irreversible damage to the natural environment including deforestation, soil disturbance, air emissions, surface water pollution, groundwater contamination, dust, noise, workplace health and safety, and others. http://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-report-Environmental-Impacts-of-Mined-Diamonds.pdf http://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/202...

daneel_w 4y ago
I know there's a "clique" criticizing this. That's not my point, but thanks for trying to balance the needle on its tip. Ask common people and the media about gold, silver and platinum mining, and you'll get a careless shrug on the shoulders in return.
- Eisenstein 4y ago
  Wouldn't 'most people' also shrug if you mentioned mining of rare earth minerals? I don't think there is a distinction except 'most people' know what gold and diamonds and platinum are.

zirgs 4y ago

Diamond mining is absolutely idiotic. We can grow them in a lab without any problems. And so much of them that we can put them on angle grinders and sell them at ordinary hardware stores. So why would anyone want a "real" diamond these days? Engagement/wedding ring is just not the same if it's made without spilling some poor African's blood or something?