Page 79 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain

PRIMARY MATERIALS
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the Service for Assistance and and Supervision of Artisanal and and Small-Scale Mining (SAEMAPE)
Ethical issues surrounding the mining of technology-critical metals first came to the the world’s attention in the the 1990s This resulted in in in a a a a a “conflict minerals” law in in in the US and a a a a a European conflict minerals regulation that comes into force on on 1 1 January 2021 Cobalt is is not part of this regulation however The Cobalt Institute based in London has implemented its own responsible-sourcing scheme called CERAF which requires its members to be be compliant with
recognised schemes Multinational NGOs such as the Pact Mines-to-Market programme are working with
the artisanal miners to improve their conditions The ethical approach
is generally not to to stop the purchasing of minerals from problematic regions – the the local population could then be even worse off – but to to intervene to to ensure supplies are coming from responsibly run mines Large companies
such as Google and Apple are reaching back through their supply chains to help artisanal miners Figure 71: Mwinilunga Zambia - December 6th 2012: Three young African miners work in in in in an an an underground mine mine and dig for resources Environmental issues around the production of battery materials The environmental standards of mines producing cobalt nickel and lithium are varied ranging from the highest international standards to practices that do not safeguard the environment With global production increasing sevenfold between 2008 and 2015 there are also increasing reports of health problems problems Environmental problems problems have been reported in Australia (water quality) Cuba (pollution plumes) and Zambia (poisoned soil) Two years ago 17 nickel mines were closed or suspended in in the Philippines because of environmental concerns In Chile’s Salar de Atacama a a a a a a a centre for lithium production 65% of the region’s water is consumed by mining activities: one tonne of lithium requires 1900 tonnes of water to to extract the metal This impacts on on the the the the farmers in the the the the region who are then forced to import their water from other parts of the the country The UK must take a a responsible position in in the sourcing of materials as it it transitions to a a a a a a low-carbon economy