One thing that is always interesting is the usage of minerals in EV cars which in the UK our wonderful leaders would like us to use.
Mineral usage
| Source: IEA. Licence: CC BY 4.0 | |||||||||
| This data is subject to the IEA's terms and conditions: https://www.iea.org/t_c/termsandconditions/ | |||||||||
| Units: kg/vehicle | |||||||||
| Copper | Lithium | Nickel | Manganese | Cobalt | Graphite | Zinc | Rare earths | Others | |
| Electric car | 53.2 | 8.9 | 39.9 | 24.5 | 13.3 | 66.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.31 |
| Conventional car | 22.3 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.3 |
Now many will say but whats the problem here, well lets start looking at where these minerals are mined – now remember that the author is based in the UK
Minerals
Here are some of the minerals and the main countries where they are mined
Lithium – Chile/Australia
There are two methods for extracting lithium. The first method is via brine reservoirs , where salt water is left to evaporate over several months. This method is used in countries, such as Chile – which accounted for 30% of global lithium production in 2022 – China, and Argentina.
The second method for extracting lithium is hard-rock extraction, otherwise known as mining. This is mainly done in Australia, which accounted for 47% of global production in 2022, producing 61,000 tonnes of lithium
The UK is also set to open its own mine, after finding significant lithium reserves in Cornwall.
Cobalt – DRC
Cobalt is obtained through mining, with 70% of the global supply coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other countries that produce cobalt include Russia, Australia, and the Philippines.
Nickel – Indonesia
Nickel is mined in over 25 countries, and about 11% of all nickel mined is used in batteries.
The largest producer of nickel is Indonesia, which produced around 1.6 million tonnes of the material in 2022. This is followed by the Philippines, Russia, New Caledonia, and Australia.
Manganese – South Africa
Manganese is also obtained through mining. The top producer is South Africa, which accounted for around 37% of global production in 2021. Other large producers of manganese include Gabon, Australia, China, and Ghana.
Iron – Australia
Australia and Brazil are the top two producers, with Australia producing around 880,000 tonnes of iron in 2022, and Brazil producing 410,00 tonnes. Both countries account for around two-thirds of global iron exports.
Other top producers of iron include China, India, and Russia.
Graphite – China
Graphite is also a mined mineral, with China being the largest producer of natural graphite – responsible for almost 80% of world production.
Now lets look at these range of countries – now again, if like me you will be thinking ‘those minerals come from a lot of different countries'. That's correct – so that material is shipped by what method, to what locations and does that have an environmental impact – lets not factor that in.
Transporting around the world will be done magically by little pixies. Again, the green movement never mention any of this stuff – WHY NOT?
Also, would the large amount of graphite not mean we have a reliance on China – I'd think that would, which comes with its own issues.
Other Concerns
EV mineral mining can have many other negative impacts:
- Deforestation and soil erosion – mining is currently the fourth-largest driver of deforestation, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. Are you seeing problems here.
- Water and air pollution – Chemicals, such as cyanide, arsenic, lead, and mercury, are all byproducts of mining and refining. These can get into local water supplies, and also get carried in the air.
- Increased greenhouse gas emissions – The metals and mining industry alone accounts for around 4– 7% of global GHG emissions.
- Human rights abuses and slave labour in Africa
Yep, isn't it interesting that the green eco warriors have no issue with kids going down mines in Africa – guess their conscience must be really clear and all the other side effects.
You see this is the issue – if you believe the greens and there are NO SIDE EFFECTS – this is an utter lie, just tell the truth regarding the issues above, the costs of the cars and the costs to run them – don't lie and ignore these either.
If you believe in this so much – Why not put this info out for the general public?