Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research

The global demand for rare earth elements (REEs) is rising rapidly. Rare earth elements and their compounds are used in a broad range of applications, including "green" technologies required for decarbonization. To counter China’s near-monopoly in the global market for REEs, many national governments and investors are looking to diversify their supply not only within their domestic territories, but also in regions like Africa. Observers have identified eastern and southern Africa as a “hotbed of critical mineral mining,” and rare earths as the "new oil" of the 21st century.

This research project is concerned with the social, ethical, and environmental implications of rare earth elements (REE) mining in Tanzania. The study is situated in southwestern Tanzania, where the national government and an Australian firm have recently signed a deal to construct the nation’s first mine for the extraction of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), materials required for making electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Following a preliminary site visit in Fall 2022, Professor Chung has conducted the first round of ethnographic fieldwork in Fall 2023. She is seeking an undergraduate research assistant to support the initial processing and analysis of interview data using a qualitative data analysis software, ATLAS.ti. The interviews cover topics including, but not limited to, villagers' current livelihoods, resource access/use, interactions with and perceptions of the mining company/project (anticipations and concerns), and future outlooks.