"In West Africa's Guinea, villagers say mining for the critical mineral bauxite has polluted water and decreased crop yields."
"BEMBOU SILATY, Guinea - Tala Oury Sow has to wash her kitchen utensils and clothes in brown, murky water in the village of Koussadji in Guinea's western Kindia region.
"Do you think we can cook and wash with this? We have no other choice," the 28-year-old farmer said, gesturing to the water she collected from a nearby river, 500 metres (550 yards) from her home in the Télimélé prefecture of the West African nation.
Sow blames the state of the water on the Indian mining company Ashapura Minechem, which opened a bauxite mine about 2 km from Koussadji in 2019.
Bauxite, the raw material in aluminium, is in high global demand because it plays a key role in enabling the clean energy transition, and Guinea holds the world's largest reserves."
Advertisement 
