GOP Rep Introduces Bill to Counter Congolese Child Mines, Chinese Influence in Minerals

Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey introduced legislation Friday which would ban imports containing key minerals extracted by child labor in Congolese mines and counter Chinese control of the global critical minerals supply.

The Countering China’s Exploitation of Strategic Metals and Minerals and Child and Forced Labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo Act would prohibit the importation of all products containing cobalt and lithium extracted by child miners and victims of labor trafficking in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a press release from Smith’s office. The rare minerals are crucial ingredients for the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s larger green energy agenda.

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Coal Fund Raid Could Cost Ohioans Millions

In a rare display of unity, members of the coal lobby joined with environmental advocacy leaders to raise concerns following Gov. John Kasich’s (R-OH) decision to raid the state’s coal mining reclamation fund. In 2017, the state of Ohio was facing a heavy tax shortfall as a result of decreased tax revenues. In response, Kasich withdrew over $114 million dollars from 16 separate state agencies in order to fund more essential government functions. The Ohio coal mining reclamation fund was among these and lost more than $5 million. Currently, there are no plans or provisions in place to replace the funds. The fund is paid for by taxes collected from state coal mining companies, intended to reverse the damage done by mining over the past two centuries. For over 200 years, Ohio has been a major center of coal mining in America. Mining was essential to the development of Ohio’s economy. While surface mining can be done responsibly, the depleted land often requires significant investment to repair. Should this not occur, environmental damage can extend well past the intended areas. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’s Division of Mineral Resources, as of 1972, the problems included: 1,300 miles of streams polluted by…

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One Dirty Secret Behind Green Energy – African Cobalt Mining

mining

by Tim Pearce   Cobalt mined under harsh conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a key component in items such as electric vehicles and iPhones sold around the world. Congolese freelance workers venture into dangerous mines to collect the valuable mineral with nothing more than shovels and picks. Many use their bare hands, and miners regularly suffer crippling injuries or death, The Wall Street Journal reported. The cobalt mined in Congo ends up all over the world in the form of lithium batteries and electronics. Pressure has mounted on the world’s largest companies to purge hand-mined cobalt from their supply chains since Amnesty International detailed working conditions in Congo in 2016. Many companies have pledged to cut support for such mines, but cleaning up a supply chain is often difficult and seldom foolproof because of the number of parties involved and the stranglehold Congo has on the market. Darton Commodities Ltd., a U.K.-based cobalt-trading firm, found that Congo is the source for roughly two-thirds of the world’s supply of cobalt, WSJ reported. “When we speak to companies along the battery value chain, this is one of the biggest issues they have,” Wood Mackenzie analyst Milan Thakore told WSJ. “How do we…

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De Beers Sees Sparkle in Synthetic Diamond Jewelry

Diamonds

Reuters   Anglo American unit De Beers is launching a company to sell laboratory-produced diamonds for jewelry in a departure from its century-old business model of promoting natural stones. Real diamonds created over thousands of years remain the priority, but De Beers is responding to customer demand for more affordable jewelry using stones made in days or weeks and sold for hundreds rather than thousands of dollars. “They’re not to celebrate life’s greatest moments, but they’re for fun and fashion,” De Beers Chief Executive Officer Bruce Cleaver said of synthetic stones in a telephone interview. “We have always said we are a natural diamonds business. We remain a natural diamonds business,” he said, adding that manmade diamonds used in fashion would not undermine the business for real diamonds as they served different markets. As the world’s biggest seller of natural diamonds by value, De Beers is a leader in technology and security processes to guarantee the authenticity of natural stones. To ensure there is no confusion between manmade gems that have little resale value and the real thing, the manufactured diamonds used in jewelry will include a tiny mark showing they are made by Element Six, a unit of De…

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