Barron's offer to the islands is abysmal: 0.5% of the estimated value of the mined material. He's ruthlessly exploiting the fact that economic development opportunities there are scarce. And that is because throughout history, these nations have been repeatedly abused by outsiders for profit. 11/

Nauru has been plundered for its abundant phosphate, the mining of which was so destructive, Nauru has been called the most environmentally ravaged nation on Earth. The next vultures turned the impoverished island into a money-laundering haven & Australia remade it into its own detention center. 12/