China accuses Chinalco rare earth unit of breaking pollution regulations

SEPTEMBER 24, 20201:54 PMUPDATED 5 HOURS AGO

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A rare earth subsidiary of state-run Aluminium Corp of China (Chinalco) in the southwestern region of Guangxi has repeatedly violated pollution rules and contaminated nearby land, the environment ministry said following an inspection of the firm.

Earlier this month, a central government environmental inspection team found that affiliates of the Chinalco subsidiary Guangxi Nonferrous Rare Earth Development Co Ltd failed to properly rectify violations and “seriously polluted the surrounding environment”, according to a statement from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) published late on Wednesday.

Guangxi Nonferrous was previously punished for environmental violations in 2018 along with Chinalco's subsidiary in northwestern China. reut.rs/33XBPt9

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The MEE statement on Wednesday said some mining projects run by Guangxi Nonferrous’ units exceeded their approved limits and built outdated and illegal production facilities.

“The inspection found ... obvious problems of legal violations, chaotic environmental management and relatively large environmental risks at the Guangxi rare earth company,” it said.

Chinalco must now investigate the problems and make corrections, the ministry said. A company spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-environment-chinalco/china-accuses-chinalco-rare-earth-unit-of-breaking-pollution-regulations-idUSKCN26F0CC?rpc=401&