Ex-Chemours employee admits guilt

Former Chemours employee Jerry Jindong Xu has agreed to plead guilty to charges that he conspired to steal sodium cyanide trade secrets from his employer. Sodium cyanide is used to extract gold from ore. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors will recommend that Xu be sentenced to a year in prison but pay no fine. Xu, a citizen of Canada, will also be subject to deportation after he serves his sentence. According to documents filed with the plea deal, Xu stole cyanide production technology in the hope of enticing Chinese partners to build a plant in Canada.