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. Both elements are needed to make lightweight rechargeable batteries for electric cars and for storing power from wind and solar plants. The car maker in a May report disclosed a list of 12 mining and refining companies that are direct suppliers, with Ganfeng included among four lithium producers. panels. Jonathan Oatis). It's not chattel slavery from the 18th century where you can buy and trade people and own title over a person like property. The report documents how traders buy cobalt from areas where child labour is rife and sell it to Congo Dongfang Mining (CDM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese mineral giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd (Huayou Cobalt). Isyour phone tainted by the misery of the 35,000 children in Congo's mines? 'To make matters worse, miners, including children, face constant risk and are ripe for exploitation,' note the report's authors. 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. And these tunnels collapse all the time, burying alive everyone who is down there, including children. "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going More children will be exploited and lives lost amid a surge for cobalt Credit: Corbis - Getty. The DRC produced approximately 74% of the world's cobalt in 2021. The church and the empire believed it was critical todesacralize these more-than-human beingsand treat them as mere resources. Of the 16 companies listed in the report as sourcing from battery manufacturers using processed cobalt from Huayou Cobalt, two multinational companies denied sourcing any cobalt from the DRC and five said they had no links with Huayou Cobalt. 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. Gcamines once had a monopoly on. WASHINGTON (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. They use pickaxes, shovels, stretches of rebar to hack and scrounge at the earth in trenches and pits and tunnels to gather cobalt and feed it up the formal supply chain. Bolivia is home to36 ethnic groupsacross its highland and lowland regions. China cornered the global cobalt market before anyone knew what was happening. 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?' The Global Slavery Index identifies mining, along with garment manufacturing and agriculture, as one of the sectors most at risk of modern slavery. "If we don't step up, other forces will step in," Mr Trudeau told the Council on Foreign Relations inNew York on Friday. The closer things were to prime matter, their argument supposed, the more they needed human imprint and an external purpose to make them valuable. hide caption. Siddharth Kara is an author, researcher, screenwriter, and activist on modern slavery. Rather, they are treated as integral to peoples earthly everyday life. But since colonial times, thelegacy of mineral abundancein Bolivia has also been one of pollution, poverty and exploitation. "Our research shows that lithium-ion batteries are produced with an input cobalt made by child labour," it said. The true figure is unknown as many accidents go unrecorded and bodies are left buried in the rubble. supply chain problems. It's a war-torn, deeply impoverished nation that has been subjected to generations of pillage and ransacking going all the way back, now centuries, to the slave trade. 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. 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. And so when big foreign stakeholders come waving around large sums of money, it's not a long stretch of the imagination to see that there would be corruption. The organizations say Huayou Cobalt should confirm who is involved in mining and trading its cobalt (and where) and make sure it is not buying cobalt mined by child labour or in dangerous conditions. 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. Without laws that require companies to check and publicly disclose information about where they source minerals and their suppliers, companies can continue to benefit from human rights abuses. 34 injured and houses destroyed after Russia launches early morning strikes on Ukraine, US authorities 'auction' First Republic Bank after second biggest bank failure in history, 'Every second is critical': Major upgrade to national emergency messages to receive more than $10m, Donald Trump denied mistrial in rape case brought by writer E Jean Carroll, Environmental group begs French energy giant to reconsider plan to fill Hazelwood coal mine with water, Katharine quit a career in opera to grow heirloom seeds and she has no regrets, Live: Vaping crackdown to include ban on non-prescription imports, Texas gunman on the run. 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. However the mining and processing of these materials often involve many labor and ethical malpractices, such as child labor and borderline slavery. The United States has alleged use of forced labor by China in sectors including mining and construction. It may prove an economic boon. The new company was registered in May in the regions capital Urumqi with capital of about 90 million yuan ($20 million). Lithium and Cobalt are two crucial components to create electric vehicles and many batteries. All Rights Reserved. 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. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kara, a fellow at Harvard's T.H. The mines have taken over everything. At present, we still dont have enough data about the sea floor to be sure what the impact would be of mining there, said Adrian Glover, a deep-sea ecology researcher at the Natural History Museum. So in the 21st century, this is modern-day slavery. Ganfengs plans to expand in Xinjiang risk drawing Elon Musks Tesla closer to the controversy over human rights in the region. And so when big foreign. According to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor), Over 70%. 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.. I would spend 24 hours down in the tunnels. They also interviewed 18 cobalt traders and followed vehicles of miners and traders as they carried cobalt ore from mines to markets where larger companies buy the ore. 7. 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 Uyuni, for example, where one of thetwo new lithium plantswill be constructed, Indigenous communities acknowledge the presence of these sacred beings. Because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Titled "This Is What We Die For," the report traces the. Slowly our dependance on fossil fuels is set to diminish and so ease global heating. Children, too. One company admitted the connection, while four were unable to say for certain whether they were buying cobalt from the DRC or Huayou Cobalt. 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. ", Kara says the mining industry has ravaged the landscape of the DRC. The company pursues a strategy of having projects in multiple countries to help limit the impact of extracting lithium excessively in any single location, it said. Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. They have about 70, 80% of the refined cobalt market and probably half of the battery market. The politicians and their supporters don't seem to care. Terms & Conditions. However, around 20 percent of cobalt produced in the Congo originates from artisanal mines where workers mine cobalt on a small. 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. (Image courtesy of Trudeau's press team). 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. And these stories never get out of the Congo. Electric vehicle makers already face criticism over labour concerns and environmental damage tied to the extraction of metals used in their products. 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. Teslas announcement that it was opening a showroom there drew criticism from groups including the Alliance for American Manufacturing. Lithium and cobalt mining for electric cars has been controversial globally for years, in part because of its environmental destruction, the short lifespan of batteries and in some countries,. 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. A rapid escalation of lithium extraction in the Bolivian Andes also represents a looming clash between two fundamentally different views of nature:modern industrial societysand that of theIndigenous communitieswho call the region home a focus of my currentresearch collaborationsanddissertation project. it by far the world's largest producer. In November, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to 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. 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. Prospecting for the materials to construct these devices, then mining them, could have very serious ecological consequences and major impacts on biodiversity, they say. Last year, a U.S. law took effect banning imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor. 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. The money will be used to construct a plant. 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. In its response to Amnestys allegations, which Amnesty has published in full alongside responses from the other named companies, Apple said it was currently evaluating whether cobalt in the companys products originated in the DRC. To have a battery powered tomorrow, there must be bloodshed today. In November, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest from Canadian critical minerals, citing national security. China in response accused Ottawa of using national He told researchers that prolonged time underground made him constantly ill: I would spend 24 hours down in the tunnels. 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. 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. Ganfengs chairman, Li Liangbin, earlier this year visited Xinjiang where activists and Western governments report Muslim Uighurs are forced into labour camps to discuss co-operating with the local government on the plans. 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. However the mining and processing of these materials often involve many labor and ethical malpractices, such as child labor and borderline slavery. 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. something we actually expect to be abided by. Millions of people enjoy the benefits of new technologies but rarely ask how they are made. Offers may be subject to change without notice. In Modern Slavery: the true cost of cobalt mining Hermes details the brutality at the sharp end of the cobalt mining supply chain in the DRC, where children work up to 12 hours a day for as little as $2. They have no industrial tools, no protective clothing, no hard hats, not even facemasks to shield toxic dust or shoes. There is no alternative there. An artisanal miner carries a sack of ore at the Shabara artisanal mine near Kolwezi, DRC, on Oct. 12, 2022. AymaraandQuechuapeoples comprise most of the Indigenous communities inthe Andes Mountains. 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). FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy. Lithium mining, which is primarily done in South America, is often associated with poor working conditions and low wages for workers. In response, China accused Ottawa of using national security as a pretext and said the divestment order broke international commerce and market rules. 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. 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. to be more expensive. Major electronics brands, including Apple, Samsung and Sony, are failing to do basic checks to ensure that cobalt mined by child labourers has not been used in their products, said Amnesty International and Afrewatch in a report published today. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday suggested that China uses slave labor in the production of lithium as he discussed . 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 life-threatening conditions and subjected to violence, extortion and intimidation. 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. Junior Kahhah/AFP via Getty Images Yet mining is linked to all sorts of environmental headaches. Amnesty International then contacted 16 multinational consumer brands listed as direct or indirect customers of the three battery component manufacturers. China's Tianqui Lithium acquired a 23.77 per cent stake in 2018. 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. 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. China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made According to the International Seabed Authority, some deposits contain millions of tonnes of cobalt, copper and manganese. 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. 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. Between 2008 and 2018 alone, annual production in the major producing countries rose from 25,400 to 85,000 tons. The Chinese deal representsa new milestone, yetits outcomes are still uncertain: for the economy, for local communities and for the Earth. If you are talented and passionate about human rights then Amnesty International wants to hear from you. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. So you have people with no alternative, no other source of income, no livelihood. The remaining companies either accepted Amnestys claims or were investigating the claims. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. In part, this is because itshigh-altitude salt flatsarent suited to the usualextraction method, solar evaporation. Nor will these ecological problems be confined to specialist metals, analysts have pointed out. That means, if you want to turn all the UKs 31m cars into electric vehicles you would require about 12% of the worlds entire copper output just for Britain. Miners in the DRC pull up a bag of cobalt vital for the production of rechargeable batteries. I met people whose legs had been amputated, who had metal bars in where their legs used to be. on working with, in partnership, with Indigenous peoples, paying The reality is that it is a back-breaking life of misery for almost no money. Chinese firms also own, operate or finance most of the "Because we put forward environmental responsibility as something we actually expect to be abided by. law took effect banning imports from China's Xinjiang region And so that's not legal, but it's happening. An artisanal miner carries a sack of ore at the Shabara artisanal mine near Kolwezi, DRC, on Oct. 12, 2022. suggested that nearly every major automaker has significant He said that some of the company responses to Amnestys assertions were staggering. Justin Trudeau on Friday linked the production of lithium in These three battery component manufacturers bought more than US$90 million worth of cobalt from Huayou Cobalt in 2013. We are going to have to learn how to consider profit and loss with regard to ecosystems just as we do now when we are considering economic issues.. 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. "Because we put forward environmental responsibility as something we actually expect to be abided by. "If we're honest the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive. 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. 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. 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. The ethical issues come from the artisanal mines, where one can find thousands of people, including children, mining for cobalt.
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