Lithium Mining Is Leaving Chile's Indigenous Communities High and Dry (Literally) As the metal fuels the clean tech boom, companies race to mine the Atacama Region. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Chinese firms also own, operate or finance most of the Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt mines, the U.S. Labor Department said in a recent report. Miners working in areas from which CDM buys cobalt face the risk of long-term health damage and a high risk of fatal accidents. In some cases, predominantly artisanal mining is taking place. However the mining and processing of these materials often involve many labor and ethical malpractices, such as child labor and borderline slavery. But separating the materials might not be that straightforward for all consumers given the complexity of EV supply chains that involve multiple stages of mining, refining, component manufacturing and assembly typically spread across multiple locations and the dangers of that obscuring the original source of raw materials. Tesla, which has invested heavily in the Chinese market and previously opened a showroom in Xinjiang, said in the report it found no instances of child labor, forced labor or inhumane treatment in audits of its suppliers. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/trudeau-accuses-china-of-using-slave-labour-to-produce-lithium/102282690, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app, Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article, This man advises his clients that elections, rates and mortgages are invalid, Vaping crackdown to include ban on non-prescription imports, Texas gunman on the run. On Friday he ordered remaining ones back to the office, The housing market is shiftingjust look at earnings published by 2 giant Fortune 500 homebuilders, CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. In a joint-investigation with African Resources Watch (Afrewatch), an African NGO focusing on human rights in the minerals and extractive industries, Amnesty International says it interviewed 90 adults and children working in five artisanal cobalt mine sites. Though EVsemit fewer greenhouse gasesthan fuel-powered vehicles, their batteriesrequire more mineralsespecially lithium, which is also used to make batteries for smartphones and computers. Many of these multinationals say they have a zero tolerance policy for child labour. Ganfeng Lithium, Chinas top lithium producer, is partnering through a subsidiary with a state-backed entity to accelerate exploration for and potentially develop lithium, nickel and other critical metal assets in the region. "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive. In 2014 approximately 40,000 children worked in mines across southern DRC, many of them mining cobalt, according to UNICEF. Some 20,000 people work at Shabara artisanal mine in the DRC, in shifts of 5,000 at a time. Several children said they had been beaten by security guards employed by mining companies and forced to pay fines by unauthorised mines police sent by state officials to extort money and intimidate workers. The customer could likely request to buy lithium from Ganfengs other operations, he said. He said that some of the company responses to Amnestys assertions were staggering. But if I've done some justice to bringing those voices out into the world that can scarcely function without the suffering of the Congolese people, then it's all worth it. Kara acknowledges the important role cobalt plays in tech devices and in the transition to sustainable energy sources. There is no alternative there. The organizations are also calling on China to require Chinese extractive companies operating overseas to investigate their supply chains and address human rights abuses in their operations. panels. The new firm is 49 per cent owned by Ganfeng Zhongkai Mining Technology itself a joint venture between Ganfeng Lithium and Jiangsu Nonghua Intelligent Agriculture Technology Co. with state-backed Xinjiang Geology and Mineral Investment holding the remainder, according to Chinas National Enterprise Credit Informational Publicity System. Around half of all cobalt comes from the DRC, and no company can validly claim that they are unaware of the human rights and child labour abuses linked with mineral extraction in the region, says Mark Dummett, business and human rights researcher at Amnesty International. These three battery component manufacturers bought more than US$90 million worth of cobalt from Huayou Cobalt in 2013. The new company was registered in May in the regions capital Urumqi with capital of about 90 million yuan ($20 million). divest from Canadian critical minerals, citing national Bolivia is home to36 ethnic groupsacross its highland and lowland regions. This is currently only guaranteed in large-scale industrial mining. Even the nightmares and the terrors, it's all worth it. A new metal-free battery platform could lead to more sustainable, recyclable batteries that degrade on demand. China in response accused Ottawa of using national security as a pretext and said the divestment order broke international commerce and market rules. Xinyu, Jiangxi-based Ganfeng prioritises the importance of environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance, which includes defending employee rights, the company said in a statement. The report shows that companies along the cobalt supply chain are failing to address human rights risks arising in their supply chain. Within this framework, a mineral like lithium is a resource to be developed in the pursuit of economic gains for human beings. In November, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest from Canadian critical minerals, citing national security. Amnesty International and Afrewatch claim that despite the denials by some of the named multinationals, none of those companies named could independently verify where the cobalt in their products come from. Miners in the DRC pull up a bag of cobalt vital for the production of rechargeable batteries. However, around 20 percent of cobalt produced in the Congo originates from artisanal mines where workers mine cobalt on a small. However, recent research by marine scientists have also revealed that despite the Clarion-Clipperton Zones depth it lies between 4,000 and 5,500 metres below the surface the ocean floor there is also rich is sea-life. Last year, a U.S. law took effect banning imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor. The 17-year-old escaped the mines and now attends the school with the help of Good Shepherd, a Catholic charity. For more than a decade the global digital revolution has been enabled by places like. Activists and Western associations have urged them to cut ties completely, but any moves to distance themselves from the region risk drawing the ire of the Chinese government. He told researchers that prolonged time underground made him constantly ill: I would spend 24 hours down in the tunnels. Workers spoke of labouring for 12 hours a day with no protective clothing, and with many experiencing significant health problems as a result. China has repeatedly denied the accusations, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian previously describing the accusations as the lie of the century. ", Some 20,000 people work at Shabara artisanal mine in the DRC, in shifts of 5,000 at a time. In Uyuni, for example, where one of thetwo new lithium plantswill be constructed, Indigenous communities acknowledge the presence of these sacred beings. "As like-minded democracies, as major economies, we need to work together to meet this moment.". Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Companies whose global profits total $125 billion cannot credibly claim that they are unable to check where key minerals in their productions come from, said Mark Dummett. Cobalt is often mined by children exploited in dangerous and illegal child labor (dol.gov). It is a major paradox of the digital era that some of the worlds richest, most innovative companies are able to market incredibly sophisticated devices without being required to show where they source raw materials for their components, said Emmanuel Umpula, Afrewatch (Africa Resources Watch) Executive Director. Modern-day slavery in focus is supported by, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File PhotoReuters. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. He signed a deal with the Chinese government for access to mining concessions in exchange for development assistance, a commitment to build roads and some public health clinics, schools, hospitals, things like that and that opened the door. That's what allows so much of this abuse to persist. 40,000 children working in all the mines across the south, many involved in mining cobalt. Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday suggested that China uses slave labor in the production of lithium as he discussed . Imagine an entire population of people who cannot survive without scrounging in hazardous conditions for a dollar or two a day. Responding to the allegations, Huayou Cobalt told Amnesty International that our company has not been aware that any of our legitimate suppliers has hired child labour in their mining sites or operated in unsafe working conditions CDM has rigorously selected its ore suppliers to ensure the procurement of raw materials through legitimate channels. In the so-called Lithium Triangle of South America made up of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia vast quantities of water are pumped from underground sources to help extract lithium from ores, and this has been linked to the lowering of ground water levels and the spread of deserts. international commerce and market rules. 7. Today, electric vehicles are widely considered part of the solution to theclimate crisis. Diplomatic tensions between Canada and China have been running high since the detention of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 and Beijing's subsequent arrest of two Canadians on spying charges. Because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. There are some incidents that are just so burned into me that they'll come at me just like a terror, and it's hard. Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Sharon Singleton and by child labor," it said. And as they dig and earn their dollar or two, that's what funds these militia groups. In fact, the history of these competing notions is deeply entwined with the history of the colonial era, as different culturescame into violent conflict. Due to research done by Volkswagenag in 2018: The global market for the alkali metal lithium is growing rapidly. Canada last year announced a tougher policy on critical It may prove an economic boon. If you are talented and passionate about human rights then Amnesty International wants to hear from you. to ramp up production of the metal used in electric vehicle and Six years ago, SQM agreed a $30mn settlement with US authorities after being accused of violating anti-bribery laws by making . His new book called, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives. However, the UK still has no method for safely storing nuclear waste underground and relies on keeping highly radioactive remnants from power plant operations above ground. Companies have found themselves caught between the US and China over the issue of Xinjiang. One survey, in 2017, found more than 30 species new to science living on the zones abyssal plain, most of them xenophyophores considered the worlds largest living single-celled organisms. It is mining on a massive scale, highly mechanised and dependent on cutting-edge technology but powered by thousands of workers - more than 10,000 at TFM - who, like Pierre, are employed as. Underage labour is not tolerated in our supply chain and we are proud to have led the industry in pioneering new safeguards, it says. The DRC produces at least 50% of the worlds cobalt. They have about 70, 80% of the refined cobalt market and probably half of the battery market. China's Tianqui Lithium acquired a 23.77 per cent stake in 2018. This article was amended on 4 January 2021 because an earlier version referred to abysmal plain when abyssal plain was the intended reference. In addition to these issues, the proposed expansion of nuclear power in the UK to satisfy demand no longer met by coal or gas plants is likely to lead to the creation of increased amounts of nuclear waste. Canada last year announced a tougher policy on critical mineral investment - particularly from China - as it worked to shore up its domestic supply after the global pandemic exposed supply chain problems. However, when we do, its going to be a big question for society. The true figure is unknown as many accidents go unrecorded and bodies are left buried in the rubble. Their claim is simply not credible, said Mark Dummett. The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy. According to the International Seabed Authority, some deposits contain millions of tonnes of cobalt, copper and manganese. The United States has alleged use of forced labor by China More children will be exploited and lives lost amid a surge for cobalt Credit: Corbis - Getty. Similarly, highland groups recognize mountains not as a set of inert rocks, but as ancestral guardians calledAchachilas in AymaraandApus in Quechua. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. Cobalt is often mined by children exploited in dangerous and illegal child labor (, Due to research done by Volkswagenag in 2018: The global market for the alkali metal lithium is growing rapidly. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. I met people whose legs had been amputated, who had metal bars in where their legs used to be. And in short order, within six months, he had been deposed, assassinated, chopped to pieces, dissolved in acid and replaced with a bloody dictator, a corrupt dictator who would keep the minerals flowing in the right direction. Several promising marine sources have been pinpointed, with the most attention focusing on metal nodules which litter some parts of the ocean floor. This supply chain has not been independently verified by the Guardian. Today there is no regulation of the global cobalt market. The report says that Huayou Cobalt sources more than 40% of its cobalt from the DRC and processes the raw mineral before selling it to battery makers, who claim to supply companies including Apple, Microsoft and Vodafone. Technically, under the law, there should not be artisanal mining taking place in any industrial mine. (modern). Department said in a recent report. Carmakers electric dreams depend on supplies of rare minerals, Mining firms face scrutiny over Congo deals. and Scrap, Open "People are working in subhuman, grinding, degrading conditions. Though VW and Ganfeng announced plans in 2019 for a 10-year supply pact, the companies currently have no direct business relationship, the car maker said in a statement. It's not chattel slavery from the 18th century where you can buy and trade people and own title over a person like property. Catch up with The Loop, 'No idea how long we can continue': East Palestine families still living in limbo, months after fiery train wreck. Prospecting for the materials to construct these devices, then mining them, could have very serious ecological consequences and major impacts on biodiversity, they say. In an interesting article about South Americas lithium fields by Maeve Campbell, last updated November 21, 2022, it states that any type of resource extraction is harmful to the planet. Amnesty International then contacted 16 multinational consumer brands listed as direct or indirect customers of the three battery component manufacturers. "Our research shows that lithium-ion batteries are produced with an input cobalt made by child labour," it said. This puts the South American country ahead of Australia (2.7 million tons), Argentina (2 million tons) and China (1 million tons) (, In an interesting article about South Americas lithium fields by Maeve Campbell, last updated November 21, 2022, it states that any type of resource extraction is harmful to the planet. Isyour phone tainted by the misery of the 35,000 children in Congo's mines? According to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor), Over 70% of the worlds cobalt is extracted from mines in The Democratic Republic of Congo. he battle to stave off Earths looming climate crisis is driving engineers to develop hosts of new green technologies. Governments must put an end to this lack of transparency, which allows companies to profit from misery.. AymaraandQuechuapeoples comprise most of the Indigenous communities inthe Andes Mountains. People just don't know what's happening down there. What is the Stone of Destiny and why is it needed for the King's coronation? Metals such as lithium and cobalt provide examples of the awkward issues that lie ahead, said Herrington. This notion was also used by Christian colonizers who were intent on destroying traditions that they saw as idolatrous. Corruption is a big part of the problem. Children as young as seven are working in perilous conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to mine cobalt that ends up in smartphones, cars and computers sold to millions across the world, by household brands including Apple, Microsoft and Vodafone, according to a new investigation by Amnesty International. I mean, imagine you're in a part of the world where there are millions of people who barely get a dollar or two a day who are grindingly poor and will accept almost any labor arrangement just to survive. World production is set to soar over the next decade. Millions of trees have been cut down, the air around mines is hazy with dust and grit, and the water has been contaminated with toxic effluents from the mining processing. , exposes the toll taken on the people and the environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo by cobalt mining. Succession recap: Is it too soon to say we've reached peak Kendall. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced because their villages were just bulldozed over to make place for large mining concessions. Huayou Cobalt supplies cobalt to three lithium-ion battery component manufacturers Ningbo Shanshan and Tianjin Bamo from China and L&F Materials from South Korea. an Account, Activate Chinese firms also own, operate or finance most of the Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt mines, the U.S. Labor Department said in a recent report. He said Canada hadsignificant sources of lithium, but China hadmade strategic choices over decades that hadmade it by far the world's largest producer. Rather, they are treated as integral to peoples earthly everyday life. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Gisele Grayson adapted it for the web. Imagine a mountain of gravel and stone just avalanching down on people, crushing legs and arms, spines. Amnesty International says it has traced cobalt used in batteries for household brands to mines in DRC, where children work in life-threatening conditions. Located in the heart of South America, Bolivia containsthe largest lithium depositsin the world an enviable position, in many countries eyes, as the market for electric vehicles takes off. mineral investment - particularly from China - as it worked to "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive. And so that's not legal, but it's happening. "There's complete cross-contamination between industrial excavator-derived cobalt and cobalt dug by women and children with their bare hands," he says. Terms & Conditions. These could be hoovered up using robot submersibles that would criss-cross the 4.5m sq km that make up the zone. Kara, a fellow at Harvard's T.H. other batteries. For example, when asked by Amnesty International whether it sourced cobalt from CDM or Huayou Cobalt, Microsoft responded by saying: We have not traced the cobalt used through our supply chain to the smelter level due to the complexity and the resources required., These are some of the biggest companies in the world, with combined profits of $125 billion and there is no excuse that companies arent investing some of that profit into ensuring that they can trace where the minerals they are using are coming from, says Dummett. The largest of them is Huayou Cobalts Congolese subsidiary CDM. In Idaho, America's first, and only, cobalt mine in decades is opening, Belgium returned a single tooth to the Congo this week. All rights reserved. Online Profile, Check Then there is the issue of lithium mining. Thousands of tonnes are needed to create wind or solar power devices while electric vehicles use two or three times more copper than those powered by a diesel or petrol engine. hide caption. A worker hands a shovel to his colleague who is inside a salt recovery pool at the Llipi pilot Plant in the Uyuni Salt Flats on August 14, 2022 in Uyuni, Bolivia . Both elements are needed to make lightweight rechargeable batteries for electric cars and for storing power from wind and solar plants. Now they're back in Kyiv. In Xinjiang, the resource is at an early stage of exploration and its currently uncertain whether theres suitable projects available for future development, Ganfeng said. Oftentimes, digging in these larger open-air pits, there are pit wall collapses. Concentrated in one area (the southeastern province of Lualaba, near the border with Zambia), cobalt mining has become a source of income for many of the country's struggling population. supply chain problems. Many of these multinationals say they have a zero tolerance policy for child labour. Cobalt mining for lithium ion batteries has a high human cost - Washington Post Workers, including children, labor in harsh and dangerous conditions to meet the world's soaring demand for.
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