Two-thirds of the rare earths mined in China come from the mineral-rich Bautou area on the edge of the Gobi desert. China produces more than 95 percent of the global supply of these 17 minerals essential to hybrid cars, wind turbines, light bulbs and electronics. Farmers living near the dumping ground for rare earths waste say they have lost teeth and their hair has turned white. Tests show that the soil and water contain high levels of cancer-causing radioactive materials. Peasant farmer Wang Tao said,”We are victims. The tailings dam has contaminated us. In this place, if you eat the contaminated food or drink the contaminated water it will harm your body.” Wang and other farmers blame the state-owned Baogang Group, China’s largest producer of rare earths, for poisoning their food and ruining their livelihoods. Beijing, in an effort to tighten its grip over these valuable metals and clean up its green image, has started cleaning up the industry by closing illegal mines and setting tougher environmental standards and restricting exports. In the villages surrounding the mine, 66 villagers died of cancer between 1993 and 2005, while crop yields fell significantly. Jamie Choi, the toxics campaign manager for Greenpeace China, said, “There is not one step of the rare earth mining process that is not disastrous to the environment.” Choi added that the impact of the government crackdown will depend upon whether or not it is “implemented properly.” The farms around Wang’s village are now fallow as farmers await government compensation. The government has offered to pay some farmers so they can move to a new village four kilometers away, but the farmers say they will not have land to till and the compensation is inadequate. “People like us can only cultivate the land and raise animals. If we don’t have a regular job, where will our income come from, how will we live?” asked Wang Tao.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-china-price-world-rare-earths.html