One major caveat to the spread of electric vehicles is the question of what we’re going to do with all of these car batteries once their time is up. There’s also concern about the environmental impact of lithium mining, not to mention that of other essential metals, like cobalt and nickel. Let’s take some time to look at what goes into EV batteries, where they go when they’re dead, and whether EVs are in the end still the best choice for the environment.
“Most process routes achieve high yields for the valuable metals cobalt, copper, and nickel. In comparison, lithium is only recovered in few processes and with a lower yield, albeit a high economic value. The recovery of the low value components graphite, manganese, and electrolyte solvents is technically feasible but economically challenging.”
Salt flats are created when water is pumped underground and returns to the surface with dissolved minerals. This brine is spread across wide pools to evaporate, leaving behind the minerals to be separated and processed. Salt flats are common in a triangle overlapping Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. The nearby Andes mountains have created large deposits not far below the surface thanks to geothermal activity that leaches minerals from volcanic rock.
Cobalt is primarily mined out of Congo, which produces roughly half the world’s supply. Heavy Chinese investment has resulted in many industrial mining operations being built to feed their production demands, but local workers are often excluded from this enterprise. Instead, they’re relegated to digging their own artisanal mines with few safety precautions and little recourse in the case of injury.
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