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Reference.org
Phosphate mining in Banaba and Nauru
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<p>The economy of <a href="/facts/Banaba/otS2pa6k">Banaba</a> and <a href="/facts/Nauru/ndT45vaC">Nauru</a> has been almost wholly dependent on <a href="/facts/Phosphate/FDGVCxUG">phosphate</a>, which has led to <a href="/facts/Environmental_disaster/V9lkAgAk">environmental disaster</a> on these islands, with 80% of the islands' surface having been <a href="/facts/Surface_mining/YTgBBloU">strip-mined</a>. The phosphate deposits were virtually exhausted by 2000, although some small-scale mining is still in progress on Nauru. Mining ended on Banaba in 1979. </p>