May 26, 2021 A miner at work at a mineral extraction site in Murmansk, Russia. — courtesy ILO/Marcel Crozet Black smoke rises from a chimney at a brick kiln, which uses coal fire to bake bricks, in eastern Bangladesh. NEW YORK — Extracting minerals, metals and other valuable raw materials from the earth, represents a “crucial juncture” between resources, ecosystems and people, all of which have an essential role to play in advancing sustainability and equity, the UN chief said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Global Roundtable on Transforming Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development, Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Our shared responsibility is to ensure that the benefits of mineral resources reach all people in society, not just elites, while safeguarding the natural environment today and for future generations”.