HOTLINE: A vision in a dream: a fragment

Hotline well remembers studying Coleridge’s famous poem Kubla Khan in English Literature lessons as a child, even going so far as to be able to recite the entire first stanza.

Hotline well remembers studying Coleridge’s famous poem Kubla Khan in English Literature lessons as a child, even going so far as to be able to recite the entire first stanza.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

However, what was not made clear to Hotline by his schoolmaster was that, while the pleasure dome may well have been stately, the picture painted by Coleridge of the surrounding area leaves much to be desired.

Instead of fertile ground and blossoming trees, there was heavy metal pollution and smog.

And, while the river Alph may well have been sacred, it is likely to have contained concentrations of lead high enough to harm aquatic life.

The silver and copper mining activities of the Mongol dynasty caused three to four times more pollution than mining does in the Yunnan area of China today, according to a study published recently in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

From geochemical analysis on dated sediment cores, the researchers found levels of heavy metals increased over the period, which included lead, silver, zinc and cadmium from atmospheric emissions associated with silver smelting and copper mining.

“Culminating during the rule of the Mongols, known as the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 AD), these metal concentrations approach levels three to four times higher than those from industrialised mining activity occurring within the catchment today,” the abstract reads.

“The persistence of this lead pollution over time created an environmental legacy that likely contributes to known issues in modern day sediment quality,” it continues.

So, while Genghis Khan’s grandson left his mark on history by being the first foreigner to conquer and rule China, enriching cultural diversity and expanding trade across the Asian continent (much like the HKEx-LMe link up – Ed), he also very much left a physical mark that still affects the people of Yunnan province to this day. 

editorial@metalbulletin.com

What to read next
Fastmarkets will amend the specifications of its existing price assessments for Europe/US lithium spot battery-grade and technical-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate to remove the US footprint, and will launch weekly price assessments for spot battery-grade and technical-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate for the United States and Canada on Thursday April 4.
This initiative marks a significant step towards reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions and championing the US in the global decarbonization effort
The most recent financial results published by base metals mining companies highlight just how inflation is affecting profit margins, with increasing wages, financing costs and input prices all hitting profits, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday March 28
Century Aluminum is among those selected to start award negotiations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminium smelter, the company said on Monday March 25
Fastmarkets launched its first price assessment for MB-FEC-0024 Ferro-chrome 50% Cr, delivered Europe, $/lb Cr on Tuesday March 26.
Fastmarkets has amended the publication date of the latest European charge and high-carbon ferro-chrome benchmark to reflect the date from which the benchmark applies after the price was erroneously published on the date it was announced (March 25).