For everything from batteries for electric cars to circuit board connectors in smartphones, mined materials keep life as we know it, or anticipate it to be, going. Gold, tungsten, lithium, cobalt — various precious materials deep in the Earth’s crust are extracted to power some of the most innovative products of the century. 

Often, these advancements are an attempt to change the trajectory of historically unstainable and polluting forms of production. So as the demand for energy efficiency increases, so does the demand for the materials used to power them. However, both the methods to source these materials and the impact extraction has on local communities raise more flags for concern. For the future of energy efficiency, here’s what you need to know about conflicts surrounding mineral mining. 

What are conflict minerals?

Like “blood diamonds,” conflict minerals are materials that are extracted in areas of political instability or armed conflict and are often traded illegally to fund weapons. 

Recently, places like the Democratic Republic of Congo have received especially attention on social media as news of major conflict and labor violations are behind the materials needed for technology popular in the West. More than two-thirds of the world’s tantalum, a mineral necessary for electrical storage capacitors, is sourced from Eastern DRC and neighboring Rwanda.  Political instability since the early 2000s brought about the proliferation of armed militia groups, who often overtake extraction mines themselves and use profit to fund arms and artillery.

In 2024, the US Department of State issued a statement of concern in Eastern DRC, claiming the corrupted supply chains “involved a wide range of human rights and labor rights abuses, such as forced labor, the worst forms of child labor, violations of the DRC’s minimum age for employment, and sexual and gender-based violence.” 

Other sections of the world, rich in natural resources, are also impacted by major mining. Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile meet at what many call the “Lithium Triangle,” a region of the Andes mountain range under salt flats that yields hundreds of thousands of tons of lithium per year. 

The demand for lithium, a necessary mineral for renewable power plants and electric car batteries, is expected to boom as the world moves away from fossil fuels. Extracting lithium in South America is especially water-intensive — lithium brine from the salt flats is pumped into large ponds and the lithium is naturally separated from the water through slow evaporation over a number of years. Not only does this amount of water exacerbate the often drought-stricken area, but these communities have little say or benefit from the profits of lithium mining. 

As of 2023, electric vehicle company Tesla worked to shift lithium sourcing for Tesla EV batteries to Chile. While the Chilean government was in direct talks with Tesla executives, some indigenous representatives voiced major opposition to the business’ welcome, while others were looking to share earnings from Tesla’s extraction as shared partners. 

According to the European Commission, some of the most prominent conflict minerals are tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold (also known as 3TG). 

How are conflict minerals being regulated?

Around the world, regulations are put into place to trace mineral supply chain conflict and promote equity in the mineral sourcing. Over 500 companies signed onto the Responsible Minerals Initiative, an umbrella organization that provides companies with audited and vetted refineries for ethical mineral sourcing. 

The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 “requires companies trading on U.S. securities exchanges to determine through supply-chain due diligence whether or not their products contain conflict minerals from DRC or neighboring countries, and report their findings annually to the SEC.”

How can mineral mining be bad for the environment?

Even when mining is driven by an effort to be more energy efficient, mineral mining is not exempt from pollution and ecological damage.

Mining itself is a water-intensive process — used for dust mitigation, separation process, and dam production for waste management. Sourcing deep into the ground can potentially impact underground water sources, contaminating water supply for often drought-stricken communities. Along the supply chain, greenhouse gases are produced from excavation to transportation to manufacturing as much of the energy to support the chain is from fossil fuels. 

Mineral mining is at the core of innovative energy strategies around the world. However, ongoing conflict, corruption and ecological damages of the industry threaten the future of energy efficiency.