In a photo taken on August 19, 2012 workers stand on a roadside near a 'toxic lake' surrounded by rare earth refineries near the inner Mongolian city of Baotou. On the edge of the Chinese city of Baotou, a 10-square-kilometre lake is blackened by pollution from factories processing rare earths, elements essential for the production of mobile phones and computers. China produces more than 95 percent of the world's rare earths, 17 elements crucial for making a range of hi-tech products. Two-thirds of that is processed in mineral-rich Baotou on the edge of the Gobi desert. AFP PHOTO / Ed Jones (Photo credit should read Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
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AFP ED JONES