![]() The world’s cobalt supply relies on mines in countries without the environmental and worker-safety standards that apply in the United States. Those safeguards could make Idaho cobalt even more attractive to companies, like the automaker Tesla, that have recently made commitments to cleaning up their supply chains. “Of course, there is also the environmental impact,” he said, including “a whole suite of possible issues,” including water contamination.Īccording to its website, Jervois will operate a water treatment plant on-site, and the mine “will operate on a zero-discharge basis with the water used in our processes, so there will be no degradation to rivers and streams.” It also has a fundamental impact in (not only) Idaho’s but the nation’s ability to sustain the energy transition from fossil fuels into renewable energy.” “Developing one or several cobalt operations can be an incredible economic boost for the region. “There is of course a fundamental economic impact for the region,” he said. The potential boom in cobalt mining could affect the area in numerous ways, Berti said. According to a 2019 Idaho Geological Survey presentation, of about 6,000 new mining claims filed in the previous year, roughly 5,000 were in Idaho’s cobalt belt. While the Jervois mine is slated to be the first active cobalt mine in the region, it likely won’t be alone for long. ![]() Their findings will be made public in the next two months, Berti said. The group he leads, which is housed at the University of Idaho, conducted an unprecedented aerial survey last September of the Idaho Cobalt Belt, which lies under the Salmon River Mountains. The Gem State sits atop the biggest deposit of cobalt in North America, said Claudio Berti, director of the Idaho Geological Survey. ![]() In June, the president signed an executive order directing the federal government to expand domestic production of critical minerals and “next-generation” electric vehicle batteries. to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in half from peak levels by the end of the decade. “But we also need to make sure that that cobalt is being extracted in an environmentally responsible way. “The fact that they are mining cobalt is important,” he said. Still, Johnson noted the mine could be an important part of a global effort to cut carbon emissions, another goal of the Idaho Conservation League. “As they go into production, we’ll be watching to see if all of their environmental safeguards are working as they should be.” “We know that mining has historically been a destructive activity to the environment,” Johnson said, pointing to the defunct Blackbird site near the new mine, where extracting cobalt and other minerals starting in the late 1800s led to its designation as a Superfund site. Josh Johnson, who works on cobalt issues at the Idaho Conservation League, said his organization has had to grapple with that tension as they have partnered with battery minerals company Jervois on a program to protect the Upper Salmon River basin. ![]() ![]() The metal is an important component of the lithium-ion batteries that power everything from next-generation cars to smartphones and power tools.īut while supporters of the project emphasize new mining practices reduce the risk of environmental harm, the transition to more climate-friendly vehicles comes with risks. In Lemhi County, about 25 miles west of the town of Salmon, the Australian firm Jervois Mining is on track to open later this year what would be the only underground cobalt mine in the United States. Thanks to skyrocketing demand for minerals needed to build electric vehicles, that path could lead through Idaho. WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has set the United States on an ambitious path toward dramatically cutting its carbon emissions in an effort to slow climate change. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |