Voices in Stone - Emily Diamand Page 0,9
to that size.
Dr Harcourt turned to the rest of the group. “So, can anyone tell me what we’re mining for here?”
A few people put their hand up. I mean, everyone knew – it’d been on the TV news, and not just the local stuff no one ever watches, it was even on Newsround. But still only a few people put their hand up – the rest only ever answer if they’re made to.
Dr Harcourt picked Liam.
“Rare earth metals,” he said, looking a bit panicked at actually having to answer.
“And what are they?”
“Um, metals that are rare?”
Mr Watkins frowned at us. “We covered this only last week.”
“Oh, um…” You could practically see the cogs working in Liam’s brain. “They’re formed in supernova explosions?” Dr Harcourt nodded. “And… they’re found all over the planet?” Liam trailed off and Mr Watkins sighed.
“Would anyone else like to tell Dr Harcourt what we know about rare earth metals?” he said.
Ruksar had her hand up so high it was amazing she didn’t dislocate her arm. Dr Harcourt smiled at her.
“Rare earth metals are seventeen metals, mostly lanthanides,” she said, all pleased with herself. “They can change the properties of other metals when they’re mixed with them. They are usually only found in low concentrations and they’re also really difficult to mine. They’re often found together with radioactive materials, so—”
“Not here!” snapped Dr Harcourt. “There are no radioactive elements at this site, I’d like to make that completely clear.”
“Oh,” said Ruksar, going bright red.
Dr Harcourt looked away from her, all smiles again. “And does anyone know what rare earth metals are used for?”
After what happened to Ruksar, there were even fewer hands up this time. Mr Watkins looked around. In lessons he picks on someone who doesn’t want to answer, but he probably didn’t want Dr Harcourt to think we’re thick, so he chose Gav.
“They’re used in smartphones, and tablets and things…” Gav trailed off. I mean, by then we’d said everything we knew.
Luckily Dr Harcourt was pleased. “That’s right,” she said. “Rare earth metals have some unusual properties that make them perfect for use in new technologies. Without them, we wouldn’t have touchscreens, and think how boring that would be.”
Mr Watkins giggled. Honestly.
“So shall we go and have a closer look?” asked Dr Harcourt.
Mr Watkins nodded enthusiastically, and it didn’t really matter what the rest of us wanted.
“The diggers will stop working while we’re on-site,” she said, “For safety reasons.”
A few people made disappointed noises, and she smiled. “But don’t worry, we’re going to give you a special demonstration.”
Now I think about it, there was something about the way she said that. It was about the only time she sounded excited.
We walked out on a gravel track, wide enough for even the biggest of dumper trucks to get along. There was a bit of mud, and I noticed that all the people from the mining company, even smart Dr Harcourt, were wearing boots. Of course, we were all wearing our school shoes, and pretty soon people, well girls, were making a fuss about it.
“My shoes are dirty!”
“I can’t walk in this!”
Mr Watkins started getting stressed and snappy, and Dr Harcourt looked like she wished she could just have us hauled away and disposed of. But she still carried on with her lectures.
“The rights to quarry here were allocated more than fifty years ago, but at the time it was thought the only use would be clay for brick making, and there were other more accessible supplies of that. However, about ten years ago UK-Earths bought the rights, for a modest sum, and things got very exciting after tests revealed what an astonishing deposit of rare earth metals we are dealing with here. An extremely unusual mixture, in a very concentrated deposit. We believe this will be an incredible boost for our economy, and open up new applications in a range of hi-tech industries.” She stopped and none of us said anything. She looked a bit put out, like we were meant to be clapping.
“What you need to appreciate,” Mr Watkins broke in, stressing again, “is how amazing this quarry is! Rare earth metals shouldn’t even be here according to the geology of the surrounding area…”
He wittered on about clay and sedimentary rock while we walked, and Dr Harcourt looked as if she wished she could squash us like flies. Mr Watkins listed all the different theories about how the oh-so-special metal had ended up in a hill near our town: ancient volcanoes, prehistoric rivers, the effects