Interview: Preventing additional conflict and inequality due to mineral mining operations
The upcoming COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, will see a proposal for a binding global treaty aimed at enhancing transparency and traceability in mineral supply chains. This initiative, spearheaded by a multi-stakeholder working group under the UN, seeks to address challenges posed by poor governance, corruption, illegality, and destruction in mineral extraction.
The focus on traceability is particularly relevant for minerals of high interest in the technological scenario, such as copper. With a strong global demand for this mineral, it's crucial to ensure due diligence and traceability mechanisms, especially in cases where mining products are linked to illegal activities.
The idea for such an agreement was first launched at the UN COP16 biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia. Since then, countries have been encouraged to better prepare or strengthen their governance frameworks to avoid repeating past problems.
The global energy transition, which relies on the production of technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, and more, requires minerals like lithium, copper, and cobalt. Countries like Chile (the second largest producer of lithium) and Argentina (emerging as a significant player) are already making strides in this area. Mexico is also aiming to become strong in the production of lithium.
Peru has exploration projects for lithium that have generated much governmental anticipation. However, nearly 40% of these mineral resources are found in countries with weak or failing governance, posing significant challenges for the implementation of the proposed agreement.
One of the main challenges in the agreement's implementation is the inclusion of other minerals, not just transition minerals, such as gold. The UN's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals has highlighted this as a significant challenge.
Notably, the agreement is not focused on a specific mineral but aims to establish systems for traceability and transparency to reduce biodiversity loss and pollution from mineral extraction and trade. Juan Luis Dammert, director for Latin America at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, played a key role in the development of the proposal.
In an interesting turn of events, the agreement being promoted is not the one for traceability and transparency in mineral supply chains, as initially assumed. Instead, it's the International Pandemic Agreement, agreed upon by WHO member states on April 16, 2025, and adopted by the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025. This agreement aims to improve global preparedness and coordinated response to pandemics while respecting national sovereignty and promoting equitable access to pandemic-related products.
Despite Bolivia's efforts to develop its lithium industry, it has yet to see much success. In the coming years, there will be an intensification in the extraction rates of minerals, including copper, necessitating the need for such agreements more than ever.
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