Southwest China copper plant canceled following protests

Local Chinese authorities canceled construction of a molybdenum copper plant after protests over the plant’s possible health risks rocked a small city in Sichuan province, The Guardian reported. The local government in Shifang city had initially announced that construction would be temporarily suspended. But after protests continued Tuesday for a third day, authorities agreed to cancel the project altogether. The decision to halt the plant came despite the government saying that protestors would be punished if they did not stop the demonstrations. Several police and 13 protestors were injured in the protests, according to the Shifang government’s Weibo microblog. Sichuan Hongda (600331.SHA) had planned to invest RMB10.4 billion (US$1.64 billion) in the molybdenum copper plant. Prolonged molybdenum exposure can cause fatigue and headaches, according to the American Cancer Society.