The manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles requires a number of metals which, among other things, enable electricity to be stored. By the end of the decade, we expect to build between 25 and 40 million electric vehicles, if we include the Chinese industry and Tesla. There is currently enough nickel to manufacture only around 13 million of them. This means that current mines will not be able to meet future demand.
The 4 main metals used in electric batteries are lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, and it is estimated that over 380 new graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt mines will have to open worldwide by 2035 to meet the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles. There is also a new generation of batteries, using lithium, iron and phosphate instead.
A mine normally takes around fifteen years to come on stream. One of the factors that often delays projects is financing. However, a new phenomenon is emerging: carmakers struggling with supply problems for the manufacture of their electric batteries are starting to finance critical mineral extraction projects directly. Some of them are buying up mines to secure their supply for the next 8, 10 or 15 years.
Extractivism and the battery industry in “Quebec” and “Canada”
The governments of so-called Quebec and Canada are stepping on the gas pedal with billions of dollars to position themselves in the automotive battery industry. ”Canada” has enormous potential in this area, especially for strategic metal extraction projects. Numerous lithium mine sites are being developed across the country, and major deposits of critical minerals are located in the Ring of Fire region of northern Ontario, on the territory of aboriginal
In “Quebec” as a whole, the number of mining claims has jumped 65% in two years. As of February 2023, there were 302,564 active claims covering more than 16 million hectares. Although there are still few critical mineral extraction projects, we can expect a sharp increase in these over the next decade. The province currently has just one lithium mine in operation: the Sayona mine in La Corne, Abitibi-Témiscamingue. But the company invested over $60 million to relaunch production last March, and other projects are in development. Similarly, ”Quebec” has only one graphite mine, at Lac-des-Îles in the Laurentdies, but production is set to increase. A number of projects are under development, including one by Nouveau Monde Graphite, which is approaching commercial production. This company plans to develop the Matawinie mine at Saint-Michel-des-Saints in Lanaudière, in Atikamekw-Nehirowisiw territory. It aims to produce 100,000 tonnes of graphite per year. Four other firms are studying graphite mining projects in ”Quebec”. Finally, in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, First Phosphate claims that the 1,500 km2 territory on which it holds a mining lease contains the purest phosphate in the world and has strong development potential.
As for electric battery manufacturing plants, there are currently 3 projects in the country: the Stellantis and LG plants in Windsor, Ontario; the Volkswagen plant in St. Thomas, Ontario; and the Northvolt plant in McMasterville, Quebec. But there is currently a shortage of critical minerals in ”Canada” to meet the future demand of these large battery plants.
A federal government document resulting from a meeting of a committee on “clean growth” states that “The rate of opening of new battery metal mines must increase fivefold by 2035 to fully support domestic battery production”. But many analysts consider this target unrealistic, and question the real capacity to open so many mines in such a short space of time. And even if 15 new strategic mineral mines were to be active within the next 10 years, how are these factories going to feed themselves in the meantime? They will have to import the raw materials needed to produce batteries. Once again, the consequences of these extractive projects will be felt by the populations of the Global South.
Impacts in the South and Canada's responsibility
While claiming to be part of the energy transition with their critical mineral extraction projects, mining companies continue to appropriate territories, destroying in the process the livelihoods of people living in regions that are often among the poorest in the world.
To cite just a few examples, let's mention the atrocities linked to mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This country is responsible for 70% of the world's cobalt supply, and the reports about these mines are bloodcurdling: the exploitation of some 40,000 children, rape, murder, expulsions... On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, dozens of new nickel mines and smelters are scheduled to open. Plans include dumping mining waste into the ocean, threatening the livelihoods of fishermen. And as if that weren't enough, to save us from climate change (sic), mining companies want to mine the ocean floor, including the Pacific seabed. In Latin America, Guatemala and Colombia to name but a few, repression against opponents of mining projects continues unabated, including massacres, targeted assassinations, forced displacement of populations, appropriation of territories and environmental destruction.
Against this gloomy backdrop, let's not forget that over 60% of the world's mining companies are headquartered in ”Canada”. As a result, most denunciations concern mining projects owned by Canadian companies. The systematic nature of the crimes committed by Canadian mining companies abroad is well documented.
Colombia: new National Development Plan focusing on critical minerals
Colombia is said to have the 10th largest nickel reserves in the world. Gustavo Petro's current government, committed to the “energy transition”, has drawn up a National Development Plan. This plan states that the new mining policy will emphasize “the exploration, extraction and commercialization of strategic minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium”. As part of this policy, the Colombian government intends to create 30 new exploration and mining areas throughout the country.
There is currently only one nickel mine in Colombia: the Cerro Matoso mine in Cordoba province. It is said to be one of the largest open-pit ferronickel mines in the world. Several members of local communities, activists and independent journalists have denounced the impacts of this mine. The mine covers more than 85 hectares on the territory of an indigenous reserve, and several villages are located around the mine, including one just 750 meters from it.
The mine causes a great deal of air pollution and releases gases containing carcinogenic substances. The population of these villages and the mine workers suffer health problems as a result, and legal proceedings against the mine are underway. In addition, there are several reports that the mine is paying the “Clan del Golfo” (a drug cartel) to operate, and that paramilitaries are threatening and murdering those who protest against the mine.
The president of the Cerro Matoso mine plans to explore nickel mining projects in at least 3 other provinces: Antioquia, Narino and southern Cauca.
More mines to get us out of the ecological crisis?
The abuses associated with the construction of mining projects around the world over the last few decades are well documented: environmental and social disasters and human rights violations are almost invariably on the menu. Today, mining companies - the majority of which are headquartered in Canada - are renewing their rhetoric and greenwashing their activities. Once again, capitalists have put their old adage “never let a good crisis go to waste” into practice: they've found a way to take advantage of the climate crisis to enrich themselves. Their solution: mine more!
The so-called “energy transition” cannot be based largely on replacing the growing car fleet with electric cars. More electric cars means more mines, which will inevitably lead to more deforestation, pollution, violations of territorial rights and violence against the populations resisting these projects. In so-called Quebec and Canada, the plan for the “energy transition” is no different: it's essentially a plan to develop mining and set up battery factories. A plan that will enable future governments and profit-hungry corporations to continue destroying ecosystems and appropriating land, mainly on aboriginal territory.
Whether here or elsewhere in the world, solving the environmental crisis with more colonial extraction is an aberration. Because we're facing much more than the climate crisis alone: we're facing an unprecedented ecological and human crisis if we don't change our economic model and our relationship with the land.
References
Increasing mining extractivism to meet EV demand
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1919007/mineraux-cobalt-nickel-lithium-batteries (2022)
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1990316/projets-miniers-quebec-titres-miniers (2023)
Impacts in various countries around the world
https://miningwatch.ca/fr/node/10834
Potential rush for critical minerals in Colombia.
https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/colombias-nickel-reserves-a-blessing-and-curse/