The fallout is multi-layered: wetlands dry up, cattle struggle and salt flats sink. As one community leader warns, their lands are "highly vulnerable to any changes". 5/5

Demand is surging: Chile supplies ~13% of global copper and ~80% of EU’s lithium. By 2034, mining water use is projected to rise another 20%. 4/5

While desalinated water now makes up ~30% of mining water, it's energy intensive and harmful to marine life due to brine discharge. Most desal plants rely on Chile's fossil-fuel grid – not yet a climate-friendly solution. 3/5

A 2021 court fined miners $47 million for over‑extracting groundwater, depleting aquifers by 25 cm and choking wetlands in Peine. 2/5

Yet, asbestos mining didn't necessarily bring economic development to Minaçu. Is rare earth mining just more of the same?

Brazil’s govt just launched a £670 m investment pool to fuel this shift — and Serra Verde (backed by Denham Capital) has started exporting tonnes already, eyeing 5,000 t/yr.

China currently controls ~90% of the global essential rare earth separation market. But Minaçu and Brazil hold the world’s second-largest reserves, and are ramping up production to challenge that dominance.

Here's why he ranks among the greatest of all time.