The Hidden Risks of Batteries: Child Labor, Modern Slavery, and Weakened Land and Water Rights With demand for cobalt and lithium surging, companies need to be aware of where they’re sourcing from. Children mining cobalt in Democratic Republic of Congo, CBS … A 2007 study funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development found 4,000 children worked at mining sites in Kolwezi alone. In 2014 approximately 40,000 children worked in mines across southern DRC, many of them mining cobalt, according to UNICEF. Greentech Media is owned by Wood Mackenzie, a Verisk company. Check out all of our energy storage resources, Watt It Takes: BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird Wants to Electrify Buildings for Everyone. If you look at the production of cobalt and lithium used in these batteries, a stark picture emerges of an industry exposed to issues such as child labor, modern slavery, and the undermining of land and water rights. Child Miners Exploited for Electric Car Batteries-Misleading!Summary of eRumor: Reports that child miners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some as young as four years old, are forced to mine cobalt needed to make electric car batteries have gone viral. Reporting by Matthew Lavietes; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Tom Finn. Cobalt: Companies struggle to keep batteries free from child labor Ironically, the environmentally friendly image of electric cars and green technology belies the environmental impacts associated with lithium mining in South America. Verisk Maplecroft’s sister company, Wood Mackenzie, suggests lithium demand will double to around 380 LCE kt (lithium carbonate equivalent 1,000 metric tons) before 2024, mainly due to an expansion in the production of electric vehicles. However, companies found to be sourcing from mines perceived to encroach on local populations’ access to water, or indeed the rights of indigenous peoples, may face a reputational cost. A 2016 investigation foun… No laws or widely acknowledged partnerships or initiatives exist to support increased traceability for cobalt mined in DR Congo -- unlike those in place for 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) conflict minerals. Risks within the production of the new wave of batteries are not, however, confined to labor rights or illegality. Elon Musk's worst nightmare: child labor and cobalt supply - … The refined metal is sold on to battery manufacturers, which then sell their products to multinational brands. Above ground, children dig, crush, mill, and haul ore – often in the hot sun. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. It marked the first time the tech industry jointly has faced legal action over the source of its cobalt. A potential ruling in favor of the communities by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is unlikely to halt operations, but local demonstrations against the projects might create continuity issues if they escalate to the extent of protests that we see in Peru. It is this lack of visibility down the supply chain that leaves companies exposed to the breadth of social and environmental issues linked to cobalt production. Visit news.trust.org. All rights reserved. Child miners aged four at Congo cobalt mine | Daily Mail Online In response to a request for comment, Dell said in an email that it has “never knowingly sourced operations” using child labor and has launched an investigation into the allegations. Mining and Electric Vehicles: Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt | naked … In the tunnels and mineshafts they risk death from explosions, rock falls, and tunnel collapse. “It’s that disconnect that makes this perhaps the worst injustice of slavery and child exploitation that I’ve seen in my two decades research,” Kara said. Children mining cobalt for batteries in Congo... 05:56 An estimated two-thirds of children in the region of the DRC that CBS News visited are not in school. Go deep on GTM's hottest topics. Six of the 14 children in the case were killed in tunnel collapses, and the others suffered life-altering injuries, including paralysis, it said. One of the key challenges for companies is traceability. “If the people were still living in Kasulo then there is no way to get rid of the The Hidden Risks of Batteries: Child Labor, Modern Slavery, and Weakened Land and Water Rights. Mica is found in every car, plane and cell phone. Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in the forced mining of gold, tin ore (cassiterite), tantalum ore (coltan), and tungsten ore (wolframite), and are used in armed conflict, sometimes as a result of forcible recruitment or abduction by … A spokesperson for Glencore said: “Glencore notes the allegations contained in a U.S. lawsuit filed on 15th December 2019. Tesla plans to use cobalt from Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore to build lithium-ion batteries at its ... tech firms of knowing that cobalt used in their products could be linked to child labor. Conflict between mine operators and local populations over water rights have led to 33 indigenous communities from Salta and Jujuy filing legal challenges against lithium operations in Laguna Guayatayoc and Salinas Grandes. Global demand for the metal is expected to increase at 7% to 13% annually over the next decade, according to a 2018 study by the European Commission. Yet still today, tens of thousands are found in the small-scale gold mines of Africa, Asia and South America. The ... "The work, by its very nature, is the worst possible form of child labour," Ms Armistead said. Ultimately, environmental issues affecting lithium production in South America pose less of a risk to business than the extreme environment of DR Congo, and they are unlikely to spur the kind of regulatory response that human rights violations in the supply chain have prompted. Cobalt is essential in making rechargeable lithium batteries ... work in cobalt mining owned by the British mining company Glencore. “Glencore’s production of cobalt in the DRC is a by-product of our industrial copper production. Amnesty International has documented serious human rights violations linked to the extraction of the minerals used in lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the DRC. More… If they’re not, they may face significant reputational damage from association with human rights violations and, in extreme cases, regulatory penalties from the slew of emerging legislative measures addressing supply chain issues. The meteoric rise of lithium-ion batteries in the transport and IT sectors has been spurred by demand for technologies that reduce carbon emissions and decrease energy use. Years of unregulated industry practices have led to detrimental human rights and environmental impacts, which governments and industry are not doing enough to tackle. Tesla and Apple among tech giants accused of aiding child labour … Verisk Maplecroft’s cobalt risk assessment -- part of its commodity risk service -- reveals that human rights abuses are widespread in the sector and can occur within both industrial and artisanal mines. © 2021 Greentech Media or its affiliated companies. Following the scrapping of mining export taxes by President Mauricio Macri, Argentina has emerged as the pre-eminent producer in South America’s "lithium triangle," which also encompasses Bolivia and Chile. Some stand for hours in water, digging sand or silt from riverbeds. Therefore, IT and auto companies need to be aware of the risks of sourcing from key cobalt and lithium-producing countries, such as Argentina and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some children were paid as little as $1.50 per day, working 6 days a week, it said. “I’ve never encountered or documented a more severe asymmetry in the allocation of income between the top of the supply chain and the bottom,” said Siddharth Kara, a researcher on modern slavery who is an expert witness in the case. 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The wind industry is in a period of intensifying competition and shifting demand that requires a multi-faceted view of the global market. Apple, Google, Tesla, Microsoft and Dell are accused of exploiting child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo by African families whose kids have been 'maimed or killed' mining … The Cobalt Action Partnership aims to eliminate child and forced labor from the cobalt value chain and contribute to the sustainable development of communities. With demand for cobalt and lithium surging, companies need to be aware of where they’re sourcing from. However, as investment grows, so does the number of legal challenges from indigenous and rural communities fighting against the industry’s demand for water and land. Another child, who began mining at 14, was hit by a truck as he left a mine area on a motorbike loaded with three bags of cobalt, weighing 33 stone. China, which produces over 40 percent of the world’s refined cobalt, imports over 75 percent of the raw cobalt it uses from DR Congo. This metal, which is used in the lithium ion batteries in laptops, tablets, and electric cars, has become a lighting rod because most of the cobalt produced in the world comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where some of the cobalt is mined using child labor. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Demand for these raw materials is set to grow significantly. Glencore has previously been accused of using child labor. More than 40 million people have been estimated to be captive in modern slavery, which includes forced labor and forced marriage, according to Walk Free and the International Labour Organization. The resulting surge in investor interest in Argentina could see investment in the sector top $20 billion between now and 2025. According to the research, the country is rated "extreme risk" for child labor, modern slavery, trafficking and occupational health and safety. Although much of this is produced at large-scale industrial mines, the Congolese government reports that around 20 percent of cobalt exports from the country originate in artisanal mines, a majority of which are unregulated and operate illegally. The legal complaint argued that the companies all have the ability to overhaul their cobalt supply chains to ensure safer conditions. Tech giants sued over child labour, deaths and injuries in cobalt … Cobalt is essential in making rechargeable lithium batteries used in millions of products sold by the tech industry. Child labour, toxic leaks: the ... Metals such as lithium and cobalt provide examples of the awkward issues that lie ahead, ... Then there is the issue of lithium mining. 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