Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Mining: A Toxic Trade

Today we are joined by Liz Downes and Lee Tan to discuss the rush for rare earth mining and critical mineral processing to feed the 'green' energy revolution, new technology and the needs of the military industrial complex.We take a close look at Australian company Lynas's Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan, Malaysia that is being fed by rare earths mined at Mt.Weld in WA.  LAMP was constructed in 2013 without a waste management plan and as of early 2026, over 1 million metric tonnes of the innocuous sounding Water Leach Purification (WLP) has accumulated on site. This radioactive waste contains uranium-238 and long-lived thorium-232, that requires isolation for billions of years.Liz Downes is a campaigner, researcher, writer and currently a Director of the Rainforest Information Centre and member of the Melbourne Rainforest Action Group (MRAG). Liz is leading Aid/Watch research to map Australia’s ‘green’ extractivism footprint domestically and internationally.Lee Tan is a statistician and a social researcher with decades of health, environmental and social justice campaigning experiences. She worked as the Asia-Pacific Campaign Coordinator for the Australian Conservation Foundation and has extensive links with Indigenous communities, local organisations and national organisations in the Region. Lee leads the Aid/Watch campaign Stop Lynas.Links:Australia’s Mining Rush for Green Energy By Liz Downes and Natalie Lowrey  Rare Earth Elements Impacts and Conflicts MapMusic: bensound.com  Artist: Theatre Of Delays.  License code: ZS40ATOWLMEU9ETV