Researchers reveal EV industry can still be linked to child labor-fueled mines
Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: Base minerals that are vital for electric vehicle batteries can be sourced to artisanal African mines, which may employ child labor, according to a new report.
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. Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
"There is no such thing as a clean supply chain of cobalt from the Congo. All is tainted by various degrees of abuse, including slavery, child labor, forced labor, debt bondage, human trafficking, hazardous and toxic working conditions, low wages, injury and death, and incalculable environmental harm," the report states.