So, you think you have an AI strategy? Think again.
expects to mine. The escape of such
chemicals via leaching, spills or air emissions
is a danger that threatens the communities
and the ecosystem as a whole.” 26
… of 23 mines, mainly nickel producers that
account for about half of output in the
world’s top nickel ore supplier, in a
government
campaign
to
fight
environmental
degradation
by
the
29
industry.”
This was due to a series of
audits that found environmental damage
from mining.
Cobalt: According to the CDC, 27 the mining
of cobalt can cause serious health effects.
For example, “chronic exposure to cobalt-
containing hard metal (dust or fume) can
result in a serious lung disease called ‘hard
metal lung disease’” – a kind of
pneumoconiosis, meaning a lung disease
caused by inhaling dust particles. Inhalation
of cobalt particles can cause respiratory
sensitization, asthma, decreased pulmonary
function and shortness of breath.” 28
According to Wired, 30 the annual demand
for nickel, cobalt and lithium are expected to
increase from a total of 200K metric tons to
a total of 1.1M metric tons in order to meet
the demand for battery-powered EVs. The
sources of these ingredients stand to face
many challenges. Figure 9 describes the
expected growth with demand for lithium,
cobalt and nickel.
Nickel: Back in 2016, Philippines'
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
Secretary Regina Lopez “ordered the closure
26 https://democracyctr.org/dc_2017/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/DClithiumfullreportenglish.pdf
27 https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/cobalt/
28 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-toll-of-the-cobalt-mining-industry-congo/
29
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-mining/philippines-to-shut-half-of-mines-mostly-nickel-in-environmental-
clampdown-idUSKBN15H0BQ
30
https://www.wired.com/story/the-potential-pitfalls-of-electric-cars-in-5-charts/
IIC Journal of Innovation
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