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Earlier this year, a cargo ship ran aground on the reef around Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands.
It had been loading bauxite from a mine on the island, and ended up spilling more than a hundred tonnes of heavy fuel into the ocean, causing an environmental disaster. The case has put a spotlight on a wider issue, the negative impacts of mining in the Pacific region.
RNZI senior journalist Johnny Blades has been covering this situation and tells us more.
MV Solomon Trader oil spill on Rennell Island, Solomon Islands. Photo: The Australian High Commission Solomon Islands