*Serbia blocks Rio Tinto’s plan to mine lithium after protests.*

The general worldwide practice in operating mines is to do only the required minimum to protect the environment from damage caused by the mine or the wastes it generates. Eventually the mine is exhausted and the company makes legal arrangements to leave the mess for others to pay for. It makes sense not to allow companies to run mines that way.

But we do need the minerals that we can get only by mining. So what is the right way to run a mine?

Does anyone know a way to operate a mine and protect the environment properly? Or of research to determine how?

A non-polluting mine might be much more expensive. Properly run mines may be uncompetitive in today's business environment. Wise countries will respond, "In 20 years, when other countries have allowed mining to poison their water, our minerals will be even more valuable, valuable enough to make a non-polluting mine profitable. In the mean time, we can wait."