by Thomas Catenacci
Fox News
Mining associated with EV batteries is ‘tainted by various degrees of abuse, including slavery, child labor, forced labor,’ report states
Minerals produced from artisanal African mines that may employ child labor continue to be used in base components of batteries, including those potentially used in electric vehicles (EVs), according to a new report shared with Fox News Digital.
The American Energy Institute (AEI), the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, the International Climate Science Coalition, and Truth in Energy and Climate jointly assembled the report, which draws from existing studies and establishes that child labor likely continues to fuel EV production worldwide.
The research argues that rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which are by far the most prevalent type of battery installed in EVs, are particularly dependent on cobalt. The world’s largest established cobalt reserves and production, however, exist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an African nation with a checkered human rights record…
According to Steve Milloy, a senior legal fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute and another co-author of the report on Tuesday, the continued reliance on the DRC for cobalt not only ensures child labor is tied to the EV industry, it also means the EV supply chain will continue to be dominated by Chinese developers…
“It’s all shipped to China. Not only is China processing that cobalt, China also processes other cobalt. China is responsible for about 85% of cobalt processing,” Milloy told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Wherever the cobalt is sourced, the vast majority of it goes to China to get processed. So, even if you get your cobalt someplace else, China is in the way.”
