Ben Reihanian S2B1 - They Want to Mine Where?

  They Want to Mine Where?

Idaho Is Sitting on One of the Most Important Elements on Earth

    Eureka! We struck oil in one of our most forgettable states Idaho. An area most Americans would regard as “the middle of nowhere”, or what Arabic speakers might call “Akhar Jahanam” (meaning “after hell”). Idaho is sitting on a 34-mile-long geological formation of sedimentary rock that consists of some of the greatest cobalt deposits in the country, and is named appropriately as the Idaho Cobalt Belt. Cobalt is one of the most crucial and desired elements on Earth right now. This dark silver metal is used to make heat resistant alloys for jet engines as well as highly sought after lithium ion batteries which have been ushering the world away from the use of fossil-fuels for energy. Commercial interest in the belt has developed in tandem with the global demand for lithium-ion batteries, as has the price of cobalt. At least six mining companies have sought permission to operate in the region from the US Forest Service. The majority of these firms are in the early stages of exploration; one has begun construction on a mine. 

    Cobalt had been mined in the area before at the 10,830-acre Blackbird Mine which was originally the only cobalt mine in the United States. Today it's a toxic waste dump with a 12-acre open pit, 4.8 million tons of waste rock, and 2 million tons of tailings. After more than 30 years of sporadic operation, Blackbird closed in the early 1980s. The adjacent waterways were devoid of life by then; heavy metal contamination had killed off the majority of their fish and aquatic insects. One creek's copper concentration was so high that the water turned a vivid blue. (Copper is frequently found in the same locations as cobalt.) The Environmental Protection Agency proposed adding Blackbird to its National Priorities List in 1993, a designation reserved for the country's most polluted locations. Ultimately, the EPA negotiated a deal with the mine's owners. However, the agency designated the mine as a Superfund site, launching a cleaning effort that has already cost the corporations more than $100 million.

    Not only did mining operations in the area lead to the devastation of the natural life in the area, it also displaced the native Shoshone people, whose ancestral homeland encompassed the southern half of Idaho and vast areas of neighboring states, from the area in the late 19th century. Daniel Stone, a policy analyst for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes said that “It’s what some people would call historical trauma, but [he] has a problem calling it historical trauma, because it never stopped.” The native peoples don't oppose the mining operations though, they just hope for the best when they expect that the mining companies will prevent pollution and restore the landscape when they're done.

    Jervois, one of the mining companies, has promised to backfill and close the underground tunnels, reclaiming as many roadways as feasible, and revegetating the land with natural vegetation. “‘In 30 years, you’ll have no idea there was a mine here,’ Lengerich, [the executive general manager of mining for Jervois Global, the Australian company that owns the new mine], said. ‘Everything will be put back the way it was.’ He paused for a moment, then corrected himself. ‘Thirty years might be a bit soon,’ he said. ‘I’d say 40 to 50 years’” (Holtz). 

    According to estimates, a mine in the Idaho Cobalt Belt will produce 1,915 metric tons of cobalt per year, enough for approximately 160,000 electric-vehicle batteries. That is a paltry sum when compared to the output of mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has more than 50% of the globe's known cobalt reserves and mined 95,000 metric tons of cobalt in 2020, accounting for around 70% of global supply. The mining sector in the Congo is notoriously treacherous, with little regulation and few safety measures. The vast bulk of cobalt produced in the Congo is shipped to China, accounting for 84% in 2019. The White House assessed the nation's cobalt supply as more susceptible than any other metal in a report on strategically essential supply chains released in June. Despite raising supply worries regarding other metals required to manufacture lithium-ion batteries, such as lithium and nickel, the research referred to the cobalt market as “one of the most comprehensive ways China has earned a competitive advantage in the essential materials environment for batteries.”

    Nobody knows how much cobalt exists in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. Many deposits have yet to be measured, and many more may be undiscovered. Geologists believe the Jervois and Electra claims contain more than 40,000 metric tons of the metal, which would be enough to meet US demand for five years. 

    In my opinion, the government should allow these companies to follow through with their mining operations but should crack down on them and have a watchful eye for any calamitous mistake that may occur in the process. Measures should be taken to protect the environment from any disasters and the mining companies should not be left to their own devices. 

    With promises of environmental upkeep and prevention of pollution but the devastating risks of any small mistake while mining, what do you think about these operations?