In 2020, a World Bank report forecast that there will be a 500% increase in demand for minerals such as graphite, lithium (above) and cobalt by 2050 to meet the needs of the global transition.
The past patterns of mineral extractivism in Africa must be avoided in the mining and processing of the transition minerals needed for the clean energy transition, WWF South Africa said in a new discussion document.
This includes the “resource curse, rent-seeking by elites, illicit financial flows, exploitative jobs and the displacement and disruption of local communities”, according to the document, which sets out its agenda for responsible mining on the continent.
It says negative water, land and biodiversity effects — including pollution and the loss of productive land, carbon sinks, biodiversity habitats and other ecosystem services such as clean water supply — must be averted.
“The extraction of these green minerals should not serve the interests of the Global North — the market — while Africa pays the externalities price.”
The issue of the sustainable development of a transition minerals industry could not be more pertinent as South Africa prepares to host G20 nations later this year, “where many of the players in this new world order will be present”, it said.
Transition minerals are essential for many clean energy technologies and their associated infrastructure such as wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles. Exponential growth in demand for these minerals is expected from 2025 to 2050, based on business growth trajectories and the climate pledges of countries.
In 2020, a World Bank report forecast that there will be a 500% increase in demand for minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt by 2050 to meet the needs of the global transition. More than three billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed for wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as energy storage, required for achieving a below 2°C future.
Many of these minerals are found in developing countries, among them South Africa, the WWF-SA said, urging the need to meet this growing demand with “the smallest possible carbon footprint, while safeguarding the environment and people”.
The best way to do this is to minimise mining by creating circular economy industries, which include reclaiming these minerals from tailings dams, slag heaps, stockpiles and mine-polluted water sources and from scrap metals and post-consumer waste.
In June, the department of minerals and petroleum resources published its critical minerals and metals strategy, which noted how mineral exploitation has been linked to environmental degradation, displacement of people, harm to health, illegal mining and the continuation of inequality.
Global South key to transition
Most transition mineral ores are found in the Global South, China and Australia and certain African countries are already suppliers. South Africa dominates with platinum-group metals mining and reserves while the Democratic Republic of the Congo has significant cobalt mining and reserves and a large share of copper.
Morocco has phosphate, Guinea has bauxite, Gabon has manganese while Mozambique has titanium and graphite. “Demand for the minerals is mainly from the Global North and China, where production is located and where large middle-classes and industrial use drive consumption.”
The African Union’s Green Minerals Strategy and many national strategies and various policy think tanks “emphasise the need for strategic beneficiation to capture more economic value in Africa as demand for these minerals grows.
“For many African countries, export revenues from extractive industries (including oil and gas, artisanal and small-scale mining) are critical for the balance of payments, although job impacts vary,” according to the report.
In South Africa, the mining and minerals sectors employ more than 474 000 workers, such as in the platinum-group metals (181 000), gold (98 000) and coal (95 000) subsectors.
Rising risks
Sustainability ambitions will be challenged by the mining of transition minerals, bringing increased risks for human rights abuses, food insecurity and water contestation, the report said.
About 60% of transition mineral projects globally are in food-insecure jurisdictions, 53% of projects are in high water risk locations and 43% of projects are in areas where there are risks to resource governance.
“The benefits of water production zones, high-yield agricultural land, carbon sinks and important biodiversity areas are necessary for strategic decision-making around land use choices to assess trade-offs and establish conditions under which mining is a ‘no go’,” it said.
The natural functioning of the continent’s key water-supplying areas should not be disrupted. “Africa’s water towers are high-altitude areas, which are the source of most major rivers. In South Africa, identified strategic water source areas provide over half of the country’s surface water from just 8% of its land area,” the report said
Water use is high during mining and can affect both surface water and groundwater resources. Many global transition mineral projects are in high water risk locations.
Copper and lithium have particularly high water requirements, with lithium presenting the highest water risks. “At the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana … the raw water requirement for the project is significant and may disrupt the water cycle and impact available water for domestic, irrigation and other purposes,” the report noted.
Aquatic ecosystems are also often affected by mining. Post-mining can lead to acid mine drainage, polluted groundwater and biologically degraded rivers. In the Witwatersrand area, acid mine drainage continues to leach heavy metals into freshwater systems decades after mine closures.
“In other regions, wetlands have been drained or fragmented, riparian vegetation stripped and hydrological flows permanently altered. This undermines the capacity of rivers to support biodiversity, regulate floods or provide clean water for local communities and into water supply infrastructure,” the report said.
In some cases agricultural development can be better for local direct benefits than mining, because it is more effective at reducing poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. In Zambia, certain agricultural products were found to have high levels of metals in them, from farming operations close to copper and cobalt mines.
Carbon sinks
The global goal of reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by mid-century relies heavily on maintaining land and ocean sinks.
“Soil disruption and deforestation from mining impact the ability of these sinks to remove carbon from the air, plus this releases carbon stored in soils, plants and natural systems,” the report noted.
Many people depend directly upon local biodiversity for food, medicines and fuel. Furthermore, most of the world’s most vulnerable biodiversity is not under legal protection and is potentially exposed to mining development and other human land uses.
“Deforestation impacts from mining over the past 20 years are highly concentrated, with almost 84% of total direct mining-related deforestation taking place in only 10 countries and 63% occurring since 2010,” the report said.
The increase in the extraction of transition minerals will bring new problems For example, bauxite-linked deforestation accounts for 8% of direct mining-related deforestation, occurring mostly in Australia (50%), Brazil (16%), Ghana (15%) and Indonesia (14%).
Iron ore and copper account for 7% and 4% of direct mining-related deforestation, respectively. Together, manganese, nickel, zinc, silver, platinum, cobalt, palladium, lead, U308 and molybdenum contribute 11% of direct mining-related deforestation.
The report noted that 69% of transition minerals mining projects are on or near land that qualifies as indigenous peoples’ or peasant land, with Africa having the highest proportion (33%) of such projects.
In Zimbabwe, people living near a lithium mine were allegedly offered US$1 900 to relocate or face eviction without compensation. The agriculture and food security of those people near a lithium project in Ghana have been harmed and they had limited financial compensation.
“Local and indigenous communities must be supported as custodians of the land with Free, Prior and Informed Consent, along with equitable benefit-sharing and protection of human rights,” the report noted. “Their access to economic resources and options, as well as land tenure, among other resources and levers, must be supported.”
It said major demand countries could set the standard by requiring that countries supplying transition minerals follow social and environmental sustainability requirements. “Building international cooperation between Global South countries can help to cement a fairer and more sustainable deal for the future of transition minerals mining.
“Similarly, it will be necessary to align the interests of those countries that require the minerals and the corporate and other interests that operate in this space, with the needs of resource-endowed countries.”
This is not a simple task but it can be enabled by stronger regulations and institutions, effective decision-making tools and accountability measures, the report recommended, adding that fair finance must underpin this.
African countries are losing between $470 million and $730 million a year in corporate income tax on average from multinational enterprise tax avoidance.
“South Africa, under the auspices of the G20, and together with other G20 members, can redefine what sustainable growth looks like: not just in megatonnes of minerals extracted and export earnings, but in terms of water secured, livelihoods sustained, human rights upheld and ecosystems maintained or restored,” the report said.
Among the report’s six key recommendations are to create circular economies for transition minerals to build out new industries and jobs, and minimise the need for destructive virgin mining and mandate strategic land-use decision-making at a national level.
This is to establish the relative benefits of different land uses and possibly “no-go areas” for mining, prior to a mining project’s conception and impact assessments.
The report said countries can adopt and implement legislation and action plans on work in mining, and strengthen institutions, including enforcement agencies, relating to the eradication of child labour, human trafficking and modern slavery and to improve worker rights.
It said prospecting permits and mining licences must only be granted if the business case for the mine indicates sufficient funds for sustainability practices in operations, for both rehabilitation and offsets to compensate for residual negative impacts.
The report further recommended the establishment of a global framework and mechanisms for traceability, transparency and accountability in the mining and processing of transition minerals.