Hi, CH:  Thanks for the links; they were interesting.

Hard to tell how seriously to take 'resident dread' in Coos Bay.  The _World_ reporter found some NIMBY complainers, but this isn't very hard.  (I lived in the Coos Bay area back in the time period covered by this article, and I don't recall any such 'dread' about red dust being very widespread.)  

"... better recycling programs ..."  Nothing wrong with recycling, but as a source of supply for most metals, it is already pretty well maxed out.  In fact, there is a certain problem with people recycling metal ... that doesn't happen to belong to them, and that is recycled before the true owners are done using it!  o_O   Given that there are a few billion people around the world yet who would like to enjoy the same standard of living that you and I take for granted, mining is definitely here to stay.