In China, Illegal Rare Earth Mines Face Crackdown (Published 2010)Song Zuokai, 81, says an illegal rare-earth mine is polluting his village’s fields and streams.Credit...Christie Johnston for The New York Times BAISHAZHEN, China � The elderly rice farmer was leading three outsiders into an illegal quarry to show them the gangster-run mine that has poisoned his village’s fields and streams. Suddenly, a blue Hyundai sport utility vehicle sped up to them in a cloud
