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. Amnesty International then contacted 16 multinational consumer brands listed as direct or indirect customers of the three battery component manufacturers. The mines have taken over everything. The dangers to health and safety make mining one of the worst forms of child labour. Today, an estimated 40.3 million people more than three times the figure during the transatlantic slave trade are living in some form of modern slavery, according to the latest figures published by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation. Millions of people enjoy the benefits of new technologies but rarely ask how they are made. For these cultures, nature is not a means to human ends. 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. Amnesty International contacted 16 multinationals who were listed as customers of the battery manufacturers listed as sourcing processed ore from Huayou Cobalt. He condemned China as he discussed his own country's efforts to ramp up production of lithium, which is used in electric vehicle and other batteries. For example, the female divinity of fertility, to whom people owe respect, is thePachamama. Digging for cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 60% of the worlds supply is found. And so that's not legal, but it's happening. Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said, but 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. Moreover, the work. "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going While some residents are hopeful about the potential benefits of the growing lithium industry, others are concerned aboutextractions local impact. Miners working in areas from which CDM buys cobalt face the risk of long-term health damage and a high risk of fatal accidents. A recovery in prices would disappoint carmakers. "If the pandemic taught us anything, if the pandemic taught us anything, it's resilience, redundancy and reliability in our supply chains," Trudeau said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accuses China of using slave labour to produce lithium, Catch up with The Loop, your quick wrap of this morning's news. WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister China has repeatedly denied the accusations, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian previously describing the accusations as the lie of the century. The Chinese deal representsa new milestone, yetits outcomes are still uncertain: for the economy, for local communities and for the Earth. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Children, too. The true figure is unknown as many accidents go unrecorded and bodies are left buried in the rubble. It documents testimonies from illegal miners and natives involved in the cobalt mining. Amnesty International and Afrewatch researchers spoke to 87 current and former cobalt miners, 17 of them children, from five mine sites in southern DRC in April and May 2015. Miners in the DRC pull up a bag of cobalt vital for the production of rechargeable batteries. The United States has alleged use of forced labor by China in sectors including mining and construction. But scientists warn there will be an environmental price to pay for this drive to create a world powered by green technology. It documents testimonies from illegal miners and natives involved in the cobalt mining. They're the most vulnerable and oftentimes trafficked and exploited in some cases in very violent circumstances. A representative for the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa did not respond to a request for comment. Several promising marine sources have been pinpointed, with the most attention focusing on metal nodules which litter some parts of the ocean floor. Catch up with The Loop, 'No idea how long we can continue': East Palestine families still living in limbo, months after fiery train wreck. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. I pray for change, 'Most renewable energy companies' linked with claims of abuses in mines. Both lithium and cobalt mining have a negative impact on the communities around them. Terms & Conditions. The deepening connection between Ganfeng and Xinjiang is set to draw more scrutiny from investors and consumers. 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. Rule 138 Ioannis Lagos (NI) Children as young as four are being forced to slave for 12 hours a day in Congo 'horror mines, extracting cobalt for the manufacture of mobile phones. 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. 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. Siddharth Karas plan is to uncover the truth about the brutal, illegal, and underaged mining practices that help produce 75% of the worlds cobalt. 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. In their eyes, reverence toward a mountain or the earth itself was worshiping a mere thing, a false god. Canada last year announced a tougher policy on critical In Chile, for example, where the majority of the worlds lithium is extracted, many workers are paid as little as $1 per hour and are not provided with adequate safety equipment. The closer things were to prime matter, their argument supposed, the more they needed human imprint and an external purpose to make them valuable. , exposes the toll taken on the people and the environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo by cobalt mining. 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. An artisanal miner holds a cobalt stone at the Shabara artisanal mine in the DRC. "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive. Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals, Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Trump accuser defends rape claim after judge denies mistrial, Biden tells Marcos U.S. commitment for defense of Philippines 'ironclad', US believes Russians in Ukraine have suffered 100,000 casualties in 5 months, Initial autopsies show children starved, asphyxiated in Kenyan cult. to ramp up production of the metal used in electric vehicle and They must take remedial action on the harm suffered by people whose human rights were abused, said Mark Dummett. In some cases, predominantly artisanal mining is taking place. Yet they will necessitatea mining surgetomeet their battery demands. Online Profile, Check Many of these multinationals say they have a zero tolerance policy for child labour. 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 . China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar panels. 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. All rights reserved. (Adds Trudeau quote on supply chain) By Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - 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 electric vehicle and other batteries. The ethical issues come from the artisanal mines, where one can find thousands of people, including children, mining for cobalt. Workers spoke of labouring for 12 hours a day with no protective clothing, and with many experiencing significant health problems as a result. China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar panels. There's money to be made in every corner and every direction. Companies in the sector face significant reputational, regulatory, and potentially legal risks stemming from the environmental and human rights practices associated with battery metals mining, he said. 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. In 2014 approximately 40,000 children worked in mines across southern DRC, many of them mining cobalt, according to UNICEF. Technically, under the law, there should not be artisanal mining taking place in any industrial mine. A lithium producer for car makers including BMW and Tesla is beginning work to assess battery metals projects in Xinjiang, deepening links between electric vehicle supply chains and a region at the heart of human rights allegations against China. April 21, 2023, 10:28 AM PDT. "Our research shows that lithium-ion batteries are produced with an input cobalt made by child labour," it said. The human rights group claims to have traced cobalt used in lithium batteries sold to 16 multinational brands to mines where young children and adults are being paid a dollar a day, working in. Despite its mineral riches, the DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has suffered from decades of war and corrupt leaders. Between 2008 and 2018 alone, annual production in the major producing countries rose from 25,400 to 85,000 tons. 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. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. Reading the phrase 'lithium mining slavery' might shock you at first. 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 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. You need tens of kilograms more copper for an electric car compared with one with a petrol engine, said Herrington. All Rights Reserved. I would spend 24 hours down in the tunnels. The United States has alleged use of forced labor by China in sectors including mining and construction. In November, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest from Canadian critical minerals, citing national security. 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. Any indication that Tesla, or another EV or battery manufacturer, is in fact collaborating with businesses that seem plausibly to be using forced labor would be very concerning to investors, said Richard Clayton, research director at SOC Investment Group, which works with union pension funds that manage assets worth more than $US250 billion ($367 billion) and hold Tesla shares. "Because we put forward environmental responsibility as Siddharth Kara's previous book Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, won the 2010 Frederick Douglass Book Prize, awarded for the best book written in English on slavery or abolition. By Doina Chiacu Titled "This Is What We Die For," the report traces the. respond to a request for comment. Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt mines, the U.S. Labor Then there is the issue of lithium mining. And as they dig and earn their dollar or two, that's what funds these militia groups. 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. A collection of moments during and after Barack Obama's presidency. I met children who had come from hundreds of miles away and have been brought through militia networks down into the copper cobalt mines to dig. 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. 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 hadsignificant exposure to products made with forced labour. Their production is likely to increase significantly over the next decade and that could cause serious ecological problems. 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. And I'm afraid that . There they breathe in cobalt-laden dust that can cause fatal lung ailments while working tunnels that are liable to collapse. 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.