To produce a few grams of gold today, operators often displace volumes of earth measured in skyscrapers, not shovelfuls. That imbalance is no longer a side note; it is the main constraint on how fast the world can source the metals needed for electrification and reindustrialization.

The physical risk is growing along with the piles. Waste-rock embankments and tailings dams fail for prosaic reasons—poor drainage, subpar compaction, aging infrastructure—but the common accelerant is water. Intense rainfall infiltrates slopes, pries open microfractures, and turns fine tailings into slurry with the consistency of wet cement.

India will maintain its investment restrictions on countries sharing borders, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated, even after recent agreements with China on easing military tensions along the disputed Himalayan border. These restrictions remain in place despite a potential thaw in political and business relations, as…

The U.S. Senate’s latest sweeping budget bill—now hurtling toward a potential vote—has effectively gutted long-standing tax incentives for wind and solar energy, delivering a major setback to America’s clean energy ambitions while introducing, for the first time, a new tax burden on these projects, according to renewable energy advocates.

Since 2005, tax credits have been the cornerstone of federal efforts to stimulate investment in renewable power. Hopes had lingered earlier in the week that senators might rewrite the bill’s provisions to preserve the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) tax incentives or extend their benefits. But in a surprise overnight maneuver, Senate leaders unveiled new language that industry groups say would terminate these vital supports immediately.