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average_asshole t1_jailp34 wrote

Reply to comment by AGVann in German scientists show a commercially feasible method for cyanobacteria to extract 17 rare earth elements from low-concentration sources. Currently, most of the world's supply of these elements is mined in China. by lughnasadh

I was going to say hahaha, its not like the Asian continent is the only place they can be mined, its just that China does it cheaply enough that the western world is happy to preserve our environment and pay China to wreck theirs.

Even with environmental regulations, mining rare earth elements is especially toxic for the environment

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