‘They take the water, the springs dry up’: fear as Guatemalan goldmine plan is revived

By: Euan Wallace and Martina Mariano in Asunción Mita · Guatemala

1 September 2026 at 15:00

After lying dormant for years, the Era Dorada project in Asunción Mita resumed this year and villagers say history is being repeated, despite promises of change

In the community of La Lima in Guatemala, Elda Dinora Ramírez, 58, looks towards a small well at the back of her home. Dusty wooden planks lie across the opening, concealing the faint gleam of water far below. “The well is drying up again,” she says.

Ramírez’s home lies less than a mile from Era Dorada – a goldmining project acquired by the Canadian multinational Aura Minerals in January 2025. After years of inactivity, the project was reactivated this year when the Guatemalan government granted Aura a construction licence.

U.S. Strikes May Have Targeted a New Type of Iranian Naval Mine

NYT > Top Stories

By: John Ismay

1 September 2026 at 00:19

The U.S. military said its attacks against Iran were in response to a threat to the Strait of Hormuz.

Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz seen from Musandam, Oman, on Monday. The strait has been under constant threat since the United States and Israel launched a combined assault against Iran on Feb. 28.

The Guardian view on rare earths: it’s common sense to secure essential supply chains | Editorial

The Guardian

By: Editorial

30 August 2026 at 19:30

Outsourcing the industry to China cannot continue, but Europe knows it can no longer count on the US for a solution

The alarm sounded 16 years ago. In 2010, China blocked exports of key rare earths to Japan in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The critical minerals are essential to everything from advanced weaponry and iPhones to electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines, so the rest of the world took note. But it didn’t take much action. China still accounts for about 70% of rare-earth mining globally and 90% of separation and processing.

Then, last year, Beijing forced Donald Trump to back away from his trade war – not with its retaliatory tariffs, but the curbing of rare-earth exports. A scramble for new supplies began in earnest. The year-long trade truce is due to expire in November. The price of erbium, an element essential to communications infrastructure, has already jumped because of fears that export controls will soon be renewed.