By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
A coalition of Non Governmental Organizations has commenced campaign for consideration and adequate protection of host communities.
They stated that the commencement of the campaign is against impending dooms associated with the underground hollow associated with large scale lithium mining activities, in Africa.
Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF) and Gaia Africa,made the disclosure during a virtual press conference yesterday.
While emphasizing the need to ensure full protection of host communities in all mining deals brokered by government and its agencies.
Speakers at the event warned that Africa may be on the path of doom if proper measures are not taken to protect the environment and the people within the mining corridor.
In his presentation Executive Director, Renevlyn Development Initiative, )RDI
Philip Jakpor, said that there are proven cases of illegal mining activities going on in Nigeria, recalling four Chinese nationals were arrested in Nasarawa State for illegal mining of lithium few weeks ago.
Jakpor lamented that local community people are often excluded in negotiations between government and the miners and the environment is always turned into a crime scene, with environmental degradation, prostitution, armed intimidation, threat to lives of anyone who oppose the status quo, and child labour becoming rife in such areas.
“My organization has visited one of the communities where lithium and gold are mined in that state and can confidently tell you that local community people are excluded in the engagements between the government and the miners and the environment is a crime scene.
“There are also some unsavory developments also in that community – a growing number of kids are recruited to mine and the girls are becoming sex slaves for the miners.
“In every community and around every community where lithium is mined in Nigeria there are Chinese companies and there is insecurity. Deliberately created insecurity in the mining communities allow the miners get away with their environmental and other crimes.
“The requisite monitoring and oversight are largely missing. And let’s not forget that lithium is driving the renewable energy vision of the world. A metric ton of lithium in the international market is about $100,000 per metric ton, up from about $30,000 a year ago.
The largest lithium importers are China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
“The Chinese are ahead in the race to grab every lithium mining community in Africa and they respect neither human rights nor environmental sustainability. Rocks are blasted indiscriminately, wastes are discarded indiscriminately, and child labor issues are being documented in their mining sites.
These incidents in lithium mining communities are reminiscent of oil extraction in the Niger Delta where issues of environmental sustainability are rife and the locals are left out of the governance of what ideally are resources from their own environment and should benefit them. Ogoniland, in Rivers State is a clear example of the oil curse”.
Also speaking, RDI board member,Lengnan Tobias Dapam, who gave an insight on the situation in Nasarawa state disclosed that the activities of miners in one of the remote villages have resulted in increased crime rate.
Dapam explained that a lot of young girls have dropped out of school, while younger school age boys are being lured into dangerous mining activities.
Similarly, Farai Maguwu, the Executive Director, Centre for Natural Resources Governance in Zimbabwe,Farai Maguwu, said the Chinese are dominant in the trade in that Southern Africa country.
He stated that the operators are not only grabbing the lands but also grabbing water, as they continue to drill boreholes for processing of lithium.
Maguwu described the activities of the miners as another form of colonialism because they collude with few local politicians and powerful people to intimidate the villagers, grab their lands and drill boreholes to the detriment of the environment.
“This is the second colonialism” he said.
North Africa Outreach Coordinator, GAIA Africa Kenza Elazkem,
said that beyond the issues of poor regulations in Africa, the critical minerals like lithiumare only critical to the Global North which will rather extract them from Global South where regulations are weak.
She revealed that the energy transition model currently being promoted by the Global North will push about 3 million Electronic Vehicles batteries to Africa by 2050 including batteries that will cause public health harzards in Africa. So there will be waste colonialism with EV batteries.
She revealed also that batteries.produced for the Global South are of not of the same standards and quality like those of the Global North.
She said GAIA is promoting campaigns to refuse products designed for wastes and reduce use of critical minerals among others.
Meanwhile , Ubrei Joe Mariere, stated that in as much the essence of a just transition which is changing from the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is crucial for addressing the climate crisis, there is need to uphold Indigenous Rights and Community Consent.
“Mining for minerals like lithium, cobalt, and copper needed for renewable technologies often occurs on Indigenous lands and in biodiversity hotspots. It is essential to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including their right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as per the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.
