In November, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to This is currently only guaranteed in large-scale industrial mining. 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. Jonathan Oatis). Both lithium and cobalt mining have a negative impact on the communities around them. This flattened vision of nature served as the basis for the modern economic concept of raw materials, which was introduced in the 18th century with thebirth of economicsas a social science. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Yet they will necessitatea mining surgetomeet their battery demands. 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. They have about 70, 80% of the refined cobalt market and probably half of the battery market. hide caption. They are searching for cobalt, the rare-earth metal powering the mobile revolution. One of the largest mineral processors in the country is Huayou Cobalt subsidiary CDM. In response, China accused Ottawa of using national security as a pretext and said the divestment order broke international commerce and market rules. an Account, Activate
China in response accused Ottawa of using national security as a pretext and said the divestment order broke international commerce and market rules. Imagine an entire population of people who cannot survive without scrounging in hazardous conditions for a dollar or two a day. Cobalt mining for lithium ion batteries has a high human cost Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt mines, the U.S. Labor Corruption is a big part of the problem. The Dark Side of Electric Cars: Exploitative Labor Practices "As like-minded democracies, as major economies, we need to work together to meet this moment.". Isyour phone tainted by the misery of the 35,000 children in Congo's mines? It places all of Chinas battery production at risk of violating US law and global norms around human rights, and that risk is only going to grow as China continues to build up EV-relevant industries in Xinjiang.. The DRC produces at least 50% of the worlds cobalt. And yet, lo and behold, at most of the industrial mines, there is some artisanal mining taking place. His new book called, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, exposes the toll taken on the people and the environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo by cobalt mining. Young mothers with babies strapped to their backs, all breathing in this toxic cobalt dust.". This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. At stake: fragile. The report says that child miners as young as seven carried back-breaking loads and worked in intense heat for between one or two dollars a day without face masks or gloves. 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. Bolivia is home to36 ethnic groupsacross its highland and lowland regions. Are Child Miners Exploited to Manufacture Electric Car Batteries? A rush to mine lithium in Nevada is pitting climate advocates and 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. The US and its allies have sanctioned individuals and entities with ties to Xinjiang and curbed some imports from the region over concerns about human rights breaches and the alleged use of forced labor. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Men, women and children are working without even the most basic protective equipment such as gloves and face masks, said Mark Dummett of Amnesty International, which has investigated the cobalt-mining crisis in DRC. Ganfeng said in November it had won a new three-year deal to provide battery-grade lithium hydroxide products to Tesla, and has previously disclosed other contracts with companies including BMW. So children are the most heavily exploited of all the people down there. law took effect banning imports from China's Xinjiang region For this they receive just ten cents per day and are constantly threatened with violence. UPDATE 3-Trudeau points to 'slave labor' in China lithium production Amnesty and Afrewatch are using the findings of the report to call on multinational companies to conduct investigations of their supply chains for lithium-ion batteries, to check for child labour or labour abuses and to be more transparent about their suppliers. Today, electric vehicles are widely considered part of the solution to theclimate crisis. We are going to have to do that in a way that creates profits but also serves people and the planet.. Siddharth Kara is an author, researcher, screenwriter, and activist on modern slavery. Modern Slavery: The true cost of cobalt mining - Human Trafficking Search "We shouldn't be transitioning to the use of electric vehicles at the cost of the people and environment of one of the most downtrodden and impoverished corners of the world," he says. A representative for the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa did not In their eyes, reverence toward a mountain or the earth itself was worshiping a mere thing, a false god. People just don't know what's happening down there. 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. These potato-sized globs of mineral are rich in copper, cobalt, manganese and other metals. There's money to be made in every corner and every direction. Released this week, it reveals a working situation so terrible for those that mine minerals used in smartphones that it borders on slavery. 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. 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. But since colonial times, thelegacy of mineral abundancein Bolivia has also been one of pollution, poverty and exploitation. And these tunnels collapse all the time, burying alive everyone who is down there, including children. This supply chain has not been independently verified by the Guardian. A joint venture between a Ganfeng unit and Xinjiang Geology and Mineral Investment aims to obtain quality lithium resources, Ganfeng said in a post on an online investor forum in June. Well, you put them in a tight pit, cram them with 10,000 other people and pay them a couple of dollars, and they'll produce thousands of tons of cobalt per year for almost no wages. The glamourous shop displays and marketing of state of the art technologies are a stark contrast to the children carrying bags of rocks, and miners in narrow manmade tunnels risking permanent lung damage. 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. The concept of raw materials can be traced to the theological notion of prime matter. The term originally comes from Aristotle, whose work was introduced to Christianity via Latin translations around the 12th century. An artisanal miner carries a sack of ore at the Shabara artisanal mine near Kolwezi, DRC, on Oct. 12, 2022. Mining the basic materials that power an electric car or a smartphone should be a source of prosperity for miners in DRC. "Because we put forward environmental responsibility as something we actually expect to be abided by. None said they had been in touch with Huayou Cobalt or traced where the cobalt in their products had come from prior to Amnesty Internationals contact. 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. Companies must not simply discontinue a trading relationship with a supplier or embargo DRC cobalt once human rights risks have been identified in the supply chain. "Because we put forward environmental responsibility as Scientists are currently working to develop this completely metal-free battery, which marks significant progress towards a sustainable and recyclable model. "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive. Five denied sourcing cobalt from via Huayou Cobalt, though they are listed as customers in the company documents of battery manufacturers. to be more expensive. Now, add to that the menace in many cases of armed forces pressuring people to dig, parents having to make a painful decision, 'Do I send my child to school or do we eat today?' Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin of the Wagner Group believes Ukraines offensive will begin in days one of several assessments that point to a pending rise in fighting. Trudeau Points to 'Slave Labor' in China Lithium Production, FILE PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 26, 2023. The politicians and their supporters don't seem to care. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday linked the production of lithium in China to "slave labor" as he discussed his own country's efforts to ramp up production of the metal used in . Our growing appetite for copper provides a striking illustration of the issues. automakers to shift their entire supply chain out of Xinjiang And as they dig and earn their dollar or two, that's what funds these militia groups. For more than a decade the global digital revolution has been enabled by places like. "Industrial mines, almost all of them, have artisanal miners working, digging in and around them, feeding cobalt into the formal supply chain.". Transaction Status, Reset
The glamourous shop displays and marketing of state of the art technologies are a stark contrast to the children carrying bags of rocks, and miners in narrow manmade tunnels risking permanent lung damage, said Mark Dummett, Business & Human Rights Researcher at Amnesty International. Cobalt batteries clean energy from a dirty trade using child slave I just hope I've done justice to those stories and to the people who shared their tragedies with me, courageously shared these tragedies with me. That is an unrealistic demand, given that we are hoping to be making electric cars only within a decade., Harrington said it was inevitable that there would an expansion in mining and in providing energy for refining ores which, combined, would have real environmental impacts. it by far the world's largest producer. Many privately wonder if this government sanctioned business is more an effort to control price and supply rather than curb human rights offenses. The Chinese deal representsa new milestone, yetits outcomes are still uncertain: for the economy, for local communities and for the Earth. Kara, a fellow at Harvard's T.H. Lithium-ion battery prices have plummeted over the past decade or so, yet last year soaring metal prices helped to push up battery costs by 7%. But scientists warn there will be an environmental price to pay for this drive to create a world powered by green technology. 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. In Idaho, America's first, and only, cobalt mine in decades is opening, Belgium returned a single tooth to the Congo this week. mineral investment - particularly from China - as it worked to Trudeau Points to 'Slave Labor' in China Lithium Production - US News The abuses in mines remain out of sight and out of mind because in todays global marketplace consumers have no idea about the conditions at the mine, factory, and assembly line. Our mission to create cleaner living using natural resources could itself cause widespread environmental harm, scientists now warn. These stores may have to be expanded significantly in future. This notion was also used by Christian colonizers who were intent on destroying traditions that they saw as idolatrous. Ganfengs plans to expand in Xinjiang risk drawing Elon Musks Tesla closer to the controversy over human rights in the region. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau links the production of lithium in China to "slave labour" and denounces the rise of authoritarianism around the world, calling on democracies to live up to . For example, the female divinity of fertility, to whom people owe respect, is thePachamama. A new metal-free battery platform could lead to more sustainable, recyclable batteries that degrade on demand. Electric vehicle makers already face criticism over labour concerns and environmental damage tied to the extraction of metals used in their products. China cornered the global cobalt market before anyone knew what was happening. As the Spanish discovered the mineral bounty of the so-called New World, like gold and silver, they began an intensiveextraction of its riches, relying on forced labor from local people and imported slaves. None of them have supports, ventilation shafts, rock bolts, anything like that. He says that although the DRC has more cobalt reserves than the rest of the planet combined, there's no such thing as a "clean" supply chain of cobalt from the country. From Stone to Phone Modern Day Cobalt Slavery in Congo 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. They have no industrial tools, no protective clothing, no hard hats, not even facemasks to shield toxic dust or shoes. Kitco News. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. 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. The human rights groups say they traced the supply chain from these mining sites to Congo Dongfang Mining (CDM), one of the largest mineral processors in the DRC and a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese mineral company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd (Huayou Cobalt). Last year, a U.S. They say that rising demands for traditional materials such as cement for building hydro-electric dams or for copper, to provide cables to link wind and solar farms to cities and to build electric cars, could also cause widespread environmental damage unless care is taken. lithium-ion batteries are produced with an input - cobalt - made 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. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. With 8 million tons, Chile has the worlds largest known lithium reserves. 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. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. In December, the United Auto Workers union called on automakers to shift their entire supply chain out of Xinjiang after a report by Britain's Sheffield Hallam University suggested that nearly every major automaker has significant exposure to products made with forced labor. And not just that, they dominate the chain all the way through to the battery level. Oftentimes, digging in these larger open-air pits, there are pit wall collapses. All Rights Reserved. Imagery captured over a remote and highly volatile region of western China reveals a growing network of internment camps used to indoctrinate vast numbers of the region's population. Tesla and Apple among tech giants accused of aiding child labour in DRC The mines have taken over everything. 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. "You have to imagine walking around some of these mining areas and dialing back our clock centuries," Kara says. Here's why. Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said, but China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made it by far the world's largest producer. on working with, in partnership, with Indigenous peoples, paying Similarly in Tibet, a toxic chemical leak from the Ganzizhou Rongda Lithium mine poisoned the local Lichu river in 2016 and triggered widespread protests in the region. Last year, a U.S. law took effect banning imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor. Catch up with The Loop, 'No idea how long we can continue': East Palestine families still living in limbo, months after fiery train wreck. after a report by Britain's Sheffield Hallam University 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. The ethical issues come from the artisanal mines, where one can find thousands of people, including children, mining for cobalt. The Catholic Church and the Spanish Empire later used this medieval understanding of matter as something passive, without spirit, tojustify the extractionof resources during colonial times. However,religious conceptssuch as sacred or divine do not necessarily capture the relationships that Andean Indigenous people have long established with thesemore-than-human beings, who have beenknown since pre-colonial times as huacas. These entities are not considered gods, or thought of as dealing with otherworldly beliefs. David Attenborough calls for ban on 'devastating' deep sea mining, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The downside of electromobility: Lithium mining in South America In part, this is because itshigh-altitude salt flatsarent suited to the usualextraction method, solar evaporation. 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. 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 China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar panels. But this promise is not worth the paper it is written when the companies are not investigating their suppliers. And while those outside of the DRC differentiate between cobalt extracted by the country's high-tech industrial mining companies and that which was dug by artisanal miners, Kara says the two are fundamentally intertwined. More than half the worlds supply of cobalt comes from the DRC, with 20% of cobalt exported coming from artisanal mines in the southern part of the country. Because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said, but China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made it by far the world's largest producer. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Gisele Grayson adapted it for the web. (Adds Trudeau quote on supply chain) "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going "Our research shows that lithium-ion batteries are produced with an input cobalt made by child labour," it said. shore up its domestic supply after the global pandemic exposed Amnesty International and Afrewatch are calling on multinational companies who use lithium-ion batteries in their products to conduct human rights due diligence, investigate whether the cobalt is extracted under hazardous conditions or with child labour, and be more transparent about their suppliers. 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"If the pandemic taught us anything,it's resilience, redundancy and reliability in our supply chains," Mr Trudeau said. 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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. In Argentina, however, there are no signs of a turnaround in lithium mining. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, additional reporting by Ismail has an estimated $24 trillion in untapped minerals. supply chain problems. that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar Children as young as 10 are involved in cobalt mining, earning as little as $3.50-$10 a day for the dangerous and dirty work, which can involve digging . The reality is that it is a back-breaking life of misery for almost no money. 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. And I'm afraid that . Child slave labour in Congo 'horror mines' - European Parliament Rather than renouncing cobalt entirely, he says people should focus on fixing the supply chain. The DRC has a long history of bloody conflict fuelled by the regions mineral wealth and the region still has an estimated $24 trillion in untapped minerals. But that looks poised to change: In January 2023, state company YLBsigned an agreementwith the Chinese consortium CBC, which includes the worldslargest producer of lithium-ion batteries, tointroduce a new methodcalled direct lithium extraction. 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In 2012, Unicef estimated that there were 40,000 children working in all the mines across the south, many involved in mining cobalt. 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,. Siddharth Karas plan is to uncover the truth about the brutal, illegal, and underaged mining practices that help produce 75% of the worlds cobalt. They're the most vulnerable and oftentimes trafficked and exploited in some cases in very violent circumstances.
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