https://humantraffickingsearch.org/resource/modern-slavery-the-true-cost-of-cobalt-mining/
It's all about crony capitalism, exploiting the system and people for personal enrichment and political agenda.
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https://www.investorvillage.com/groups.asp?mb=19168&mn=507262&pt=msg&mid=24218943
https://twitter.com/JamesMelville/status/1678293471944142848 The unethical truth of net zero. Around 40,000 child slaves in Congo work in hazardous conditions in cobalt mines, with inadequate safety equipment and for very little money. The cobalt is used in many products - including electric car batteries.
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A measure has been introduced in the U.S. House to ban imported products containing minerals critical to electric vehicle batteries but mined through child labor and other abusive conditions in Congo, where China has enormous mining stakes.
The bill targets China, which sponsor Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey says uses forced labor and exploits children to mine cobalt in the impoverished but resource-rich central African country.
Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s climate plans. China controls the majority of the cobalt mines in Congo, strengthening Beijing’s position in the global supply chain for electric vehicles and other products.
Congo is also Africa’s top producer of copper, and lithium was recently found there — also key components of EV batteries.
The extraction of the minerals has been linked to child and exploitative labor, environmental abuses and safety risks. In a 2016 report, Amnesty International blamed Chinese firms for child labor in Congo’s cobalt mining and multinational tech firms for failing to address the negative human rights issue in their supply chains.
The U.S. legislation would prohibit importing “goods, wares, articles, or merchandise containing metals or minerals, in particular cobalt and lithium and their derivatives, mined, produced, smelted or processed, wholly or in part, by child labor or forced labor in the DRC,” Smith’s office said.
Cobalt may become scarce for U.S. car companies.
Previous thread on this:
Lithium Batteries, Cobalt and the Congo
Started by joj - Jan. 5, 2023, 7:53 p.m
. https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/91944/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25G4BcioPjE&t=180s&ab_channel=JoeScott
Very informative. Almost too much to keep up with. (a lot of authentic facts)
Re: Lithium Batteries, Cobalt and the Congo
By metmike - Jan. 6, 2023, 3:40 a.m.
Thanks joj!
The sales of electric cars are booming, but the rising demand for transition minerals will pose a challenge for the mining industry.
https://www.mining-technology.com/analysis/concerns-for-mineral-supply-chain-amid-booming-ev-sales/
Another challenge for the future supply chain is that unlike some fossil fuels, many of the minerals essential for EVs are produced in just a handful of countries. Over half of the supply of minerals needed for EV batteries comes from the top three producing countries.
In 2020, Australia was responsible for 48% of global lithium production. For graphite, China is the world’s main supplier, with nearly 79% of global production originating from the country. In the same year, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) supplied 69% of global cobalt.
With regards to rare earth metals, China has most of them!
https://www.statista.com/chart/18278/global-rare-earth-production/
https://geology.com/articles/rare-earth-elements/
Note the amount of reserves below:
World Mine Production and Reserves | ||
| Country | Production (Metric Tons) | Reserves (Metric Tons) |
| United States | 38,000 | 1,500,000 |
| Australia | 17,000 | 4,100,000 |
| Brazil | 1,000 | 21,000,000 |
| Burma | 30,000 | not available |
| Burundi | 500 | not available |
| Canada | -- | 830,000 |
| China | 140,000 | 44,000,000 |
| Greenland | -- | 1,500,000 |
| India | 3,000 | 6,900,000 |
| Madagascar | 8,000 | not available |
| Russia | 2,700 | 12,000,000 |
| South Africa | -- | 790,000 |
| Tanzania | -- | 890,000 |
| Thailand | 2,000 | not available |
| Vietnam | 1,000 | 22,000,000 |
| Other Countries | 100 | 310,000 |
| World total (rounded) | 240,000 | |
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China Dominates the Rare Earths Supply Chain
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Fossil fuels are their own batteries. The energy is stored in them.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/01/05/the-wind-power-mirage/
Energy transition is a hoax
10 responses |
Started by metmike - April 15, 2023, 5:50 p.m.
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/94557/
There Is No Energy Transition, Just Energy Addition
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/03/12/there-is-no-energy-transition-just-energy-addition/
While wind and solar power are taking a larger piece out of a growing world primary energy pie, fossil fuels are expected to have more absolute growth through 2050.
As Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright explained in his viral video a few weeks ago, dishonest terminology surrounds the climate debate. One of these terms is “Energy Transition”. The term’s use gives the impression that there exists a quick, easy and scalable alternative to eliminate fossil fuel use without serious impact on people.
Current primary energy distribution by source, and forecasts by organizations like the EIA in their International Energy Outlook 2021, show that this “energy transition” is non-existent. As you can see in the title graph above, and also in Liberty’s ESG report on Bettering Human Lives, no present quantity of primary energy generated by oil or gas is currently replaced by renewables. A couple of headlines from the report that you don’t hear a lot:
The reason for this growth is simple: fossil fuels are abundant, cheap and efficient to provide reliable and dense energy at scale. They have helped to generate a quality-of-life revolution for a portion of humanity, and people in poverty who have missed out on this blessing rightfully want what you and I already have.
