This measure would urge the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation to halt the importation of lithium and cobalt, or any product using those minerals, mined in Africa using child slave labor and to encourage the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.

WHEREAS, People around the world increasingly rely on rechargeable batteries to power mobile phones, all-electric vehicles, laptop computers, and other portable devices; and

WHEREAS, Lithium and cobalt are critical minerals used in batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles, making them vital to achieving a net-zero carbon goal; and

WHEREAS, The growing global market for portable electronic devices and rechargeable batteries is driving the increasing demand for the extraction of lithium and cobalt; and

WHEREAS, Virtually all of the lithium used in the United States is produced outside the country and most is mined in Argentina, Chile, China, and Australia; and

WHEREAS, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the source of more than two-thirds of the worlds cobalt; and

WHEREAS, The use of child slave labor has become inextricably linked to the mining and collection of cobalt ore; and

WHEREAS, The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) estimated in 2014 that approximately 40,000 boys and girls work in all the mines across the southern DRC, many of them involved in cobalt mining; and

WHEREAS, According to a report completed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), DRC authorities lack the financial and human resources to perform controls and prosecute offenders who make use of child labor. There is no dedicated inspectorate charged with carrying out child labor controls; and

WHEREAS, Companies involved in the lithium battery supply chain are aiding and abetting in the death and serious injury of child slaves who extract cobalt to further their environmental goals; and

WHEREAS, The United States is a ratifying member of the Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor; and

WHEREAS, The use of child labor to support the mining for cobalt in the manufacturing of lithium used to power electric vehicles should not be ignored; and

WHEREAS, There is estimated to be about 1,000,000 tons of cobalt resources in the United States. Most of these resources are located in Minnesota, but other important occurrences are located in Alaska, California, Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, and Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, The opening of Australia-based Jervois Globals facility in Idaho, which is near the site of a defunct cobalt open pit mine, is being hailed by state and federal officials pushing to fast track development of minerals that support domestic and national security; and

WHEREAS, Potential commercially available substitutes for cobalt exist that utilize nickel, manganese, or iron. All of these substitutes are more abundant than cobalt; and

WHEREAS, Seventy-six percent of cobalt and approximately 50 percent of lithium were imported in 2020; and

WHEREAS, According to a report from the Energy Commission, the Salton Sea region in the County of Imperial, also known as Lithium Valley, has the highest concentration of lithium contained in geothermal brine in the world; and

WHEREAS, The Salton Sea geothermal system contains a proven total dissolved lithium content of 4,100,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, and the estimated total resource is 18,000,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, which can be processed into battery grade lithium; and

WHEREAS, The Salton Sea could hold enough lithium to potentially produce sufficient material for 375,000,000 electric vehicles; and

WHEREAS, Selling lithium from the geothermal brine as a byproduct may also lower the cost of geothermal power, making it more competitive with other renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar; and

WHEREAS, People living near proposed lithium projects already suffer disproportionately from air pollution caused by industrial agriculture and dust from the exposed lakebed of the receding Salton Sea, and indigenous communities have raised concerns about potential impacts to cultural sites at the Salton Sea; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Energy suggested in a 100-day supply chain review report that the public and private sectors should consider increased domestic production when strong labor standards and environmental protections are applied to support economically viable domestic extraction; and

WHEREAS, Domestic lithium and cobalt extraction is key to national security during our transition to clean energy. The United States Department of Defense has entered into an agreement to expand domestic lithium mining for battery supply chains in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Large-scale mining has the potential to provide economic benefits in the form of taxes and jobs, and the sector remains linked to major human rights abuses, gender-based violence, environmental harm, corruption, and political capture; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that future mining only proceed with the full support and consent of indigenous people and frontline communities; and

WHEREAS, The United States should take immediate action to eliminate its participation in the rechargeable battery supply chain that perpetuates human rights abuses and child slave labor; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature recognizes its duty to protect against human rights abuses; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation that halts the importation of lithium, cobalt, or any product containing lithium or cobalt obtained using child slave labor; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges the President and Congress of the United States to encourage the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.

 CONSENT  

Bill No: SJR 15

Author: Bradford (D), et al.

Introduced: 4/18/24

Vote: 21

SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/17/24

AYES: Min, Seyarto, Allen, Dahle, Eggman, Grove, Hurtado, Laird, Limón, Padilla, Stern

SUBJECT: Alternatives to lithium and cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This resolution urges the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation to halt the importation of lithium and cobalt, or any product using those minerals, mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourages the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.

ANALYSIS:

Existing federal law:

1. Prohibits the importation of any products made with forced labor. (§307 of The Tariff Act of 1930).
2. Requires, through the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, acting through the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, to monitor and combat forced labor and child labor by, among other things, developing and making available to the public a list of goods from countries that the bureau has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards.

Existing state law requires, through the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, that retail sellers and manufacturers doing business in the state and having annual worldwide gross receipts that exceed $100,000,000 to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their direct supply chains for tangible goods offered for sale, as specified.

This resolution makes various legislative findings related to the reliance on rechargeable batteries, increasing demand for the extraction of lithium and cobalt, use of child slave labor linked to the mining of cobalt, existing mineral resources found in the United States, potential for the Salton Sea to produce lithium, and national security concerns, among others. This resolution also makes the following legislative findings: (a) it is imperative that future mining only proceed with the full support and consent of indigenous people and frontline communities; and (b) the United States should take immediate action to eliminate its participation in the rechargeable battery supply chain that perpetuates human rights abuses and child slave labor.

Specifically, this resolution:

1. Recognizes the Legislature's duty to protect against human rights abuses.
2. Urges the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation that halts the importation of lithium, cobalt, or any product containing lithium or cobalt obtained using child slave labor.
3. Urges the President and Congress of the United States to encourage the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.

Background

Lithium Valley Commission. While zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) have become one of California’s largest exports, the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs) and other electronics that use lithium-ion batteries still relies on raw materials and components sourced from foreign countries. According to the United States Geological Survey 2023 Mineral Commodity Summaries, 80 percent of the global market for lithium is associated with battery components, and Australia, Argentina, Chile, and China are the largest global producers of lithium.

To address rising battery consumption and demand for lithium, many countries are developing lithium resources. Developing domestic lithium supplies has become a national priority. California’s Salton Sea is the location of multiple geothermal brines, which can be a rich source of lithium. Similar brines are currently the largest sources of lithium in the world. The Salton Sea’s potential for lithium extraction has led some to refer to it as “Lithium Valley.”

Like all races for mineral extraction, the development of lithium resources is fraught with concerns about exploitative labor and environmental practices. California has sought options to expand in-state lithium extraction without repeating these practices. AB 1657 (Garcia, Chapter 271, Statues of 2020) authorized the California Energy Commission to convene a Blue-Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California (Lithium Valley Commission). The Lithium Valley Commission is charged with reviewing, investigating, and analyzing certain issues and potential incentives, as further detailed in the statute, regarding lithium extraction and use in California. In 2022, the Lithium Valley Commission submitted a report to the Legislature documenting its findings and recommendations. Key findings from the report included:

• Due to the high demand for and reliance on lithium-ion batteries in the United States and the world, lithium is seen as a critical mineral important to national security;
• The Salton Sea is believed to have the highest concentration of lithium contained in geothermal brines in the world;
• Mining is environmentally harmful — it scars landscapes, adversely affects ecosystems and habitat, is water- and energy-intensive, and can pollute air and water resources;
• The lithium recovery technologies proposed for use in Imperial County are designed to be a more sustainable and environmentally beneficial approach to lithium recovery in terms of factors such as land use, water use, time to market, and carbon intensity; and
• Members of communities and Tribes near and culturally affiliated with the Salton Sea are deeply interested in and concerned about possible impacts to the environment, cultural resources, and public health due to increased development of geothermal power plants and lithium recovery. There is also interest and support for the economic development, job creation, and business opportunities.

Child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A recent book entitled “Cobalt Red” describes that much of the DRC's cobalt is being extracted by artisanal miners who are essentially freelance workers. The author describes that militias will sometimes abduct or recruit children to work in these types of mines. The book describes that these children are the most heavily exploited of all the people in the country and that they are the most vulnerable to violence.

Comments

Expanding on previous efforts. SCR 24 (Bradford, Resolution Chapter 149, Statutes of 2023) declared that the Legislature should pass laws that halt the importation of cobalt or any product using cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourages domestic importation of cobalt from within the United States and the mining of cobalt directly in California. This resolution passed the Senate floor with a vote of 40-0. This resolution expands on SCR 24 by adding lithium, making legislative findings related to the Salton Sea, and urging the President and Congress of the United States to take action, among other things.

H.R. 7981. The Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act (H.R. 7981) is a House resolution introduced by Rep. Smith (R) in April 2024. This resolution would require the interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to identify and address instances of forced labor in cobalt supply chains from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many of the legislative findings of this resolution are similar to those in this resolution. H.R 7981 is currently before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Related/Prior Legislation

SB 1239 (Grove, 2024) would have required the Department of General Services to require suppliers of zero-emission vehicles purchased for the state vehicle fleet to certify that any raw materials used in their manufacturing (including lithium and cobalt) come from mining operations that are free of child labor. This bill was held on the suspense file by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SCR 24 (Bradford, Resolution Chapter 149, Statutes of 2023) declared that the Legislature should pass laws that halt the importation of cobalt or any product using cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourages domestic importation of cobalt from within the United States and the mining of cobalt directly in California.

AB 782 (Cooper, 2021) would have enacted the Congo Child Labor Act of 2021 and prohibited a retail seller or manufacturer doing business in this state with gross receipts of $10 million or more per year from selling or making a product containing 300 or more grams of cobalt unless it has certified, under penalty of perjury, that the cobalt was not mined or refined using child labor by filing a Congo Child Labor Disclosure with the Franchise Tax Board. The bill was held in the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/18/24)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/18/24)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “Smartphones, computers and electric vehicles may be emblems of the modern world, but their rechargeable batteries are frequently powered by metals obtained without community engagement or, tragically, through child slave labor. For example, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the source of over two-thirds of the world’s cobalt and children as young as six years old are forced to scavenge, wash, and sort cobalt ore before it is sold and manufactured into the products we use every day.

“In 2014, the United Nations Children’s Fund estimated that approximately 40,000 children work in all the mines across the southern DRC. The use of cobalt in the production of lithium batteries is expected to grow substantially over the next decade due to increasing demand for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage. These technologies are key to achieving our net-zero carbon goals, but the United States should not be a participant to the exploitation of children.

“Virtually all of the lithium used in the United States is produced outside the country and most is mined in Argentina, Chile, China, and Australia. But large deposits of lithium can be found across the United States including here in California in places like the Salton Sea with the potential to support over 375 million batteries for electric vehicles—more than the total number of vehicles currently on U.S. roads.

“The time to move away from a reliance on imports and child slave labor for these critical metals is now. SJR 15 recognizes the United States’ duty to protect against human rights abuses and urges the President and Congress to enact legislation that halts the importation of lithium, cobalt, or any product containing lithium or cobalt obtained using child slave labor and encourages the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals to be ethically sourced from within the United States.”

Prepared by: Paul Jacobs / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116

6/19/24 11:53:28

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER

Senator Dave Min, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SJR Hearing Date: June 17, 2024

Subject: Alternatives to lithium and cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor

SUMMARY

This measure would urge the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation to halt the importation of lithium and cobalt, or any product using those minerals, mined in Africa using child slave labor and to encourage the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.

BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW

Background:

Lithium Valley Commission. While zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) have become one of California’s largest exports, the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs) and other electronics that use lithium-ion batteries still relies on raw materials and components sourced from foreign countries. According to the United States Geological Survey 2023 Mineral Commodity Summaries, 80 percent of the global market for lithium is associated with battery components, and Australia, Argentina, Chile, and China are the largest global producers of lithium.^[1] To address rising battery consumption and demand for lithium, many countries are developing lithium resources. Developing domestic lithium supplies has become a national priority. California’s Salton Sea is the location of multiple geothermal brines, which can be a rich source of lithium. Similar brines are currently the largest sources of lithium in the world. The Salton Sea’s potential for lithium extraction has led some to refer to it as “Lithium Valley.”

Like all races for mineral extraction, the development of lithium resources is fraught with concerns about exploitative labor and environmental practices. California has sought options to expand in-state lithium extraction without repeating these practices. AB 1657 (Garcia, Chapter 271, Statues of 2020) authorized the California Energy Commission to convene a Blue-Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California (Lithium Valley Commission). The Lithium Valley Commission is charged with reviewing, investigating, and analyzing certain issues and potential incentives, as further detailed in the statute, regarding lithium extraction and use in California. In 2022, the Lithium Valley Commission submitted a report to the Legislature documenting its findings and recommendations. Key findings from the report included:

• Due to the high demand for and reliance on lithium-ion batteries in the United States and the world, lithium is seen as a critical mineral important to national security;
• The Salton Sea is believed to have the highest concentration of lithium contained in geothermal brines in the world;
• Mining is environmentally harmful — it scars landscapes, adversely affects ecosystems and habitat, is water- and energy-intensive, and can pollute air and water resources;
• The lithium recovery technologies proposed for use in Imperial County are designed to be a more sustainable and environmentally beneficial approach to lithium recovery in terms of factors such as land use, water use, time to market, and carbon intensity; and
• Members of communities and Tribes near and culturally affiliated with the Salton Sea are deeply interested in and concerned about possible impacts to the environment, cultural resources, and public health due to increased development of geothermal power plants and lithium recovery. There is also interest and support for the economic development, job creation, and business opportunities.

Child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A recent book entitled “Cobalt Red” describes that much of the DRC's cobalt is being extracted by artisanal miners who are essentially freelance workers. The author describes that militias will sometimes abduct or recruit children to work in these types of mines. The book describes that these children are the most heavily exploited of all the people in the country and that they are the most vulnerable to violence.^[2]

Existing federal law:

1. Prohibits the importation of any products made with forced labor. §307 of The Tariff Act of 1930.
2. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, requires the U.S. Secretary of Labor, acting through the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, to monitor and combat forced labor and child labor by, among other things, developing and making available to the public a list of goods from countries that the bureau has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards.

Existing state law:

1. The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 requires retail sellers and manufacturers doing business in the state and having annual worldwide gross receipts that exceed $100,000,000 to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their direct supply chains for tangible goods offered for sale, as specified.

PROPOSED LAW

This resolution would make various legislative findings related to the reliance on rechargeable batteries, increasing demand for the extraction of lithium and cobalt, use of child slave labor linked to the mining of cobalt, existing mineral resources found in the United States, potential for the Salton Sea to produce lithium, and national security concerns, among others. This resolution would also make the following legislative findings:

1. It is imperative that future mining only proceed with the full support and consent of indigenous people and frontline communities; and
2. The United States should take immediate action to eliminate its participation in the rechargeable battery supply chain that perpetuates human rights abuses and child slave labor.

This resolution would:

1. Recognize the Legislature's duty to protect against human rights abuses;
2. Urge the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation that halts the importation of lithium, cobalt, or any product containing lithium or cobalt obtained using child slave labor; and
3. Urge the President and Congress of the United States to encourage the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT

According to the author, “Smartphones, computers and electric vehicles may be emblems of the modern world, but their rechargeable batteries are frequently powered by metals obtained without community engagement or, tragically, through child slave labor. For example, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the source of over two-thirds of the world’s cobalt and children as young as six years old are forced to scavenge, wash, and sort cobalt ore before it is sold and manufactured into the products we use every day.”

“In 2014, the United Nations Children’s Fund estimated that approximately 40,000 children work in all the mines across the southern DRC. The use of cobalt in the production of lithium batteries is expected to grow substantially over the next decade due to increasing demand for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage. These technologies are key to achieving our net-zero carbon goals, but the United States should not be a participant to the exploitation of children.”

“Virtually all of the lithium used in the United States is produced outside the country and most is mined in Argentina, Chile, China, and Australia. But large deposits of lithium can be found across the United States including here in California in places like the Salton Sea with the potential to support over 375 million batteries for electric vehicles—more than the total number of vehicles currently on U.S. roads.”

“The time to move away from a reliance on imports and child slave labor for these critical metals is now. SJR 15 recognizes the United States’ duty to protect against human rights abuses and urges the President and Congress to enact legislation that halts the importation of lithium, cobalt, or any product containing lithium or cobalt obtained using child slave labor and encourages the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals to be ethically sourced from within the United States.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION

None Received

COMMENTS

Expanding on previous efforts. SCR 24 (Bradford, Res. Chapter 149, Statutes of 2023) declared that the Legislature should pass laws that halt the importation of cobalt or any product using cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourages domestic importation of cobalt from within the United States and the mining of cobalt directly in California. This resolution passed the Senate floor with a vote of 40-0. SJR 15 expands on SCR 24 by adding lithium, making legislative findings related to the Salton Sea, and urging the President and Congress of the United States to take action, among other things.

H.R. 7981. The Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act (H.R. 7981) is a House resolution introduced by Rep. Smith (R) in April 2024. This resolution would require the interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to identify and address instances of forced labor in cobalt supply chains from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many of the legislative findings of this resolution are similar to those in SJR 15. H.R 7981 is currently before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Prior legislation.

SB 1239 (Grove, 2024) would have required the Department of General Services to require suppliers of zero-emission vehicles purchased for the state vehicle fleet to certify that any raw materials used in their manufacturing (including lithium and cobalt) come from mining operations that are free of child labor. This bill was held on the suspense file by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SCR 24 (Bradford, Res. Chapter 149, Statutes of 2023) declared that the Legislature should pass laws that halt the importation of cobalt or any product using cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourages domestic importation of cobalt from within the United States and the mining of cobalt directly in California.

AB 782 (Cooper, 2021) would have enacted the Congo Child Labor Act of 2021 and prohibited a retail seller or manufacturer doing business in this state with gross receipts of $10 million or more per year from selling or making a product containing 300 or more grams of cobalt unless it has certified, under penalty of perjury, that the cobalt was not mined or refined using child labor by filing a Congo Child Labor Disclosure with the Franchise Tax Board. The bill was held in the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.

SUPPORT

None Received

OPPOSITION

None Received

-- END --

1. See https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/mcs2023 ↑

2. See "Cobalt Red" by Siddharth Kara. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250284297/cobaltred ↑