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Natural Resources

List of Natural Resources articles

An aerial view shows long, narrow ponds filled with a thick brine, dug into the bed of a dry lake in the desert in Nevada. Piles of white minerals are mounded between the ponds.
An aerial view shows long, narrow ponds filled with a thick brine, dug into the bed of a dry lake in the desert in Nevada. Piles of white minerals are mounded between the ponds.

Washington Wants a White Gold Rush

The Biden administration looks to domestic lithium mining to boost U.S. energy security and counter China.

Report
Christina Lu
A man in a tank top and shorts carries a sack on his shoulder up a bare mine hillside. Other workers are seen dotting the landscape behind him. In the distance are green hills and houses in a rolling landscape.
A man in a tank top and shorts carries a sack on his shoulder up a bare mine hillside. Other workers are seen dotting the landscape behind him. In the distance are green hills and houses in a rolling landscape.

The Problem With ‘Conflict-Free’ Minerals

How traceability schemes have wound up hurting Congo’s people.

Deep Dive
Mélanie Gouby
A worker in a reflective vest and hard hat leans against the wheel of a truck used in nickel mining. The vehicle is massive, and the wheel alone is four or feet taller than the worker. The vehicle is parked on an expanse of packed dirt, but rocks and some vegetation are visible in the background.
A worker in a reflective vest and hard hat leans against the wheel of a truck used in nickel mining. The vehicle is massive, and the wheel alone is four or feet taller than the worker. The vehicle is parked on an expanse of packed dirt, but rocks and some vegetation are visible in the background.

Why a Small Pacific Island Territory Is Upending Nickel Prices

Violent riots in New Caledonia are having an outsized global impact on critical mineral supply chains.

Report
Rishi Iyengar
A steel worker takes an iron sample from a blast furnace, surrounded by molten iron.
A steel worker takes an iron sample from a blast furnace, surrounded by molten iron.

How Steel Built the Modern Economy

And how it might yet save it.

Deep Dive
Keith Johnson
Copper miners at the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in Butte, Montana.
Copper miners at the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in Butte, Montana.

Uncle Sam Wants You to Join the Mining Industry

A major talent squeeze is complicating Washington’s critical mineral ambitions.

Report
Christina Lu
A view of dump trucks loaded with nickel ore at a mining site in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia on Aug. 3, 2023.
A view of dump trucks loaded with nickel ore at a mining site in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia on Aug. 3, 2023.

Without Indonesia’s Nickel, EVs Have No Future in America

The IRA and Senate opposition to a free trade deal with Jakarta are undermining the United States’ green transition.

Argument
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan
Andrew Sweetman, a deep-sea ecology professor wearing a gray boiler suit and white hard hat, kneels on one knee as he gestures to research equipment on the deck of a ship beneath a pale cloudy sky in the Pacific Ocean.
Andrew Sweetman, a deep-sea ecology professor wearing a gray boiler suit and white hard hat, kneels on one knee as he gestures to research equipment on the deck of a ship beneath a pale cloudy sky in the Pacific Ocean.

Washington Wants In on the Deep-Sea Mining Game

The scramble for critical minerals is heating up under the sea, but lawmakers fear the United States could be left behind.

Report
Christina Lu
Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud addresses the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.
Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud addresses the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.

The Middle East’s Oil Giants Have Entered the Critical Minerals Race

As the clean energy transition takes off, the region’s biggest players are making sure they have a seat at the table.

Report
Christina Lu
Trucks loaded with copper prepare to leave Tenke Fungurume Mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 17, 2023.
Trucks loaded with copper prepare to leave Tenke Fungurume Mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 17, 2023.

Washington Wants to Revive a Critical Minerals Mega-Railway Through Africa

The move comes straight out of China’s Belt-and-Road playbook.

Report
Christina Lu
Excavators and trucks involved in a nickel mining operation are seen from above next to a river in Indonesia.
Excavators and trucks involved in a nickel mining operation are seen from above next to a river in Indonesia.

Indonesia Has Grand Ambitions for Its Nickel Industry

As the country heads to the polls this week, the future of Jakarta’s bid is set to come into sharper focus.

Analysis
Christina Lu
A satellite image shows the tiny island of Nauru in the South Pacific in June 1999. The dark blue ocean surrounds it, with a few clouds drifting into frame in the upper right corner.
A satellite image shows the tiny island of Nauru in the South Pacific in June 1999. The dark blue ocean surrounds it, with a few clouds drifting into frame in the upper right corner.

The Country With Nothing Left to Lose

In its quest for cash, the tiny island nation of Nauru has tried it all. Its latest scheme may be its riskiest bet yet.

Feature
Christina Lu
A portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin on a tombstone.
A portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin on a tombstone.

5 News Stories That Made a Splash

From the war in Ukraine to Sudan’s implosion, FP’s reporters were on the case.

Roundup
Keith Johnson
An indigenous woman with streaks of paint down her face and wearing a bandana yells as she takes part in a protest against a government mining contract in Panama.
An indigenous woman with streaks of paint down her face and wearing a bandana yells as she takes part in a protest against a government mining contract in Panama.

Panama’s Mining Future Is at a Tipping Point

Protesters want to kick out the country’s biggest investor and usher in a new era of environmental politics.

Argument
Cristina Guevara
Workers disembark a research vessel docked in San Diego in June 2021.
Workers disembark a research vessel docked in San Diego in June 2021.

China Aims to Corner the Undersea Mineral Market, Too

The race is on to tap the riches of minerals in the high seas.

Report
Christina Lu
A worker examines car batteries at a factory for Xinwangda Electric Vehicle Battery Co., in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province.
A worker examines car batteries at a factory for Xinwangda Electric Vehicle Battery Co., in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province.

Beijing Tightens Its Grip on the Critical Minerals Sector

The West has taken steps to slash its dependence on China, but it still commands supply chains—for now.

Report
Christina Lu
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