The global push for clean energy is driving unprecedented demand for critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper. These resources are essential for building the technologies needed to combat climate change.[1] But they come at a cost, often paid by Indigenous communities.
A recent study shows that 54% of extractive projects for clean energy are on or near Indigenous lands.[2] These territories aren’t just pieces of land—they are sacred, ecological, cultural, and economic lifelines for Indigenous peoples. The growing footprint of mining operations is triggering widespread harm: land dispossession, water shortages, health risks, and threats to livelihoods and cultural survival.
This urgent issue took center stage at a side event organized by VIVAT International and the NGO Mining Working Group during the 24th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII24), held April 29, 2025. The event, Extractives, Critical Mining, and Land Grabbing from the Lens of Indigenous Peoples, featured voices from frontline regions: Claudia Andrea Huircan (Argentina), Toussaint Kafarhire Murhula, S.J. (DRC), Paulus Budi Kleden SVD (Indonesia), and Wenslaus Fautubun (West Papua).[6]
The Lithium Triangle: A Dry Land Drained
Lithium powers everything from electric vehicles to smartphones. And the ‘Lithium Triangle’—Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile—holds more than 75% of global reserves.[3] But the region is one of the driest on earth.
Lithium mining requires massive amounts of water—about 500,000 gallons per tonne. In Chile’s Salar de Atacama, mining has consumed 65% of the region’s water, endangering local communities and ecosystems. In Argentina, contamination of water sources has affected people, livestock, and crops. The triangle is also home to three flamingo species now under threat.
Claudia Andrea Huircan highlighted a key contradiction: “Transitional energy is ambiguous.” While it aims to reduce carbon emissions, the extractive methods ignore Indigenous rights and displace communities. Most high-skilled jobs go to outsiders; Indigenous people are left with low-paid, precarious work or forced off their lands.
Cobalt in the DRC: Conflict and Child Labor
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the epicenter of the global cobalt supply, holding over half of the world’s reserves and producing 70% of its output.[1] Cobalt is critical for lithium-ion batteries, the backbone of clean tech.
But the human cost is staggering. Much of the cobalt is mined through artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), often unregulated, unsafe, and exploitative. Around 40% of ASM workers in the DRC are children.[5] Many workers work without protective gear and are exposed to toxic cobalt dust that causes lasting health damage.
A 2020 IPIS study documented nearly 3,000 ASM sites in eastern DRC alone, employing over 427,000 people.[4] Deaths and injuries are common. Beyond physical risks, entire communities are displaced as armed groups and corporations vie for control of mineral-rich areas.
Father Toussaint Murhula emphasized that the pattern of violence in the DRC mirrors the legacy of the slave trade, colonization, and modern neoliberal exploitation.[6] Today, over 5.6 million Congolese are internally displaced due to conflict, over 80% of it driven by resource extraction.[7]
A Just Transition, Not a New Injustice
Fighting climate change cannot justify trampling the rights of Indigenous peoples or destroying fragile ecosystems. The current model of critical mineral extraction is unsustainable and unjust.
Real climate solutions must start with justice: fair labor, Indigenous land rights, environmental protection, and democratic oversight of mining operations. A just energy transition means not only reducing emissions but also protecting the people most affected by the shift to green technologies.
We can’t save the planet by sacrificing its most vulnerable stewards.
Paul Rahmat SVD, VIVAT Team – New York
Footnotes
[1] https://theconversation.com/critical-minerals-are-vital-for-renewable-energy-we-must-learn-to-mine-them-responsibly-131547
[2] https://theconversation.com/54-of-projects-extracting-clean-energy-minerals-overlap-with-indigenous-lands-research-reveals-195438
[3] https://hir.harvard.edu/lithium-triangle/
[4] https://ipisresearch.be/maps-data/maps-of-drc/
[5] https://theconversation.com/we-miners-die-a-lot-appalling-conditions-and-poverty-wages-the-lives-of-cobalt-miners-in-the-drc-220986
[6] Remarks by Toussaint Kafarhire Murhula, S.J., director of the Arrupe Center, at UNPFII side event sponsored by the Mining Working Group.
[7] https://www.unhcr.org/us/countries/democratic-republic-congo
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