China's booming electric vehicle industry is fuelling a lithium rush in the Tibetan plateau that risks damaging the troubled region's fragile ecology and deepening rights violations, research published Wednesday said.
China is the world's biggest EV market but largely relies on other countries to supply the lithium used in the batteries that power low-carbon vehicles.
That is set to change as Beijing begins to exploit vast deposits on the Tibetan plateau -- around 85 percent of the country's total lithium reserves.
But this "white gold rush" has led to Chinese miners polluting the local environment with "quick, cheap and dirty" extraction and processing techniques, according to the report by Turquoise Roof, a network of Tibetan researchers.
The group used satellite data and public resources to chart the impact of lithium mining in culturally Tibetan areas and its links to carmakers, including Elon Musk's Tesla and its Chinese competitor BYD.
Those firms, it said, are "increasingly reliant on Tibet's lithium exploitation".
"Bigger, faster electric cars require larger capacity lithium batteries -- which cannot be done without a hidden footprint in Tibet," it said.
Citing Chinese geological research, Turquoise Roof said about 3.6 million tons of China's lithium lies in hard rock deposits in Tibet and the adjacent provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai.
Miners exploiting those resources risk creating "devastating" pollution in biodiverse regions particularly vulnerable to climate change, the report says.
It pointed to a mine in Sichuan whose activities reportedly killed thousands of fish in a local river and harmed grasslands home to Tibetan herders.
"Tibetans have no voice in this latest rush to riches... there can be no informed local consideration of whether there should be extraction," it says.
In one example, the report cites a patch of land in a Tibetan autonomous county in Sichuan province found to have rich lithium deposits that sparked a bidding war between firms, eventually won by Chinese battery giant CATL.
But local Tibetans, it said, "were not informed that their hill pastures were being sold, let alone consulted in any way about the land being drilled beneath their feet."
Tibet has alternated over the centuries between independence and control by China, which says it has brought infrastructure and education since taking over the region in 1951.
But many exiled Tibetans accuse China's ruling Communist Party of repression, torture and eroding their culture, with rights groups and some Western governments backing their claims.
About a million Tibetan children have been separated from their families and put through "forced assimilation" at Chinese residential schools, UN experts have said.
Wednesday's report comes as China seeks to shore up domestic supplies of critical minerals in the face of fraying ties with Western exporters.
Beijing imposed curbs on the graphite used to make EV batteries after the United States restricted outflows of high-tech microchips to China.
The European Union has also angered China by launching a probe into Beijing's subsidies for its homegrown EVs.
Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Objectives:
The objective of this report is to investigate the impacts of Chinas lithium rush on the Tibetan plateau.
State-of-the-Art and Limitations:
China is currently the worlds biggest EV market but relies on other countries to supply the lithium used in batteries that power low carbon vehicles. Beijing is now beginning to exploit vast deposits on the Tibetan plateau and this white gold rush has led to Chinese miners polluting the local environment. Whats New in the Approach and Why it Will Succeed:
Turquoise Roof, a network of Tibetan researchers, used satellite data and public resources to chart the impact of lithium mining in culturally Tibetan areas and its links to carmakers such as Tesla and BYD. They found that a mine in Sichuan whose activities killed thousands of fish in a local river and harmed grasslands home to Tibetan herders. Target Audience and Impact if Successful:
The target audience is China and other countries that rely on Chinas lithium mining. If successful, this report will bring attention to the environmental and human rights impacts of lithium mining in Tibet and create awareness about the need for sustainable practices to be followed. Risks Involved in Pursuing this Approach:
The risks involved in pursuing this approach are environmental damage, including fish kills and grassland destruction, and human rights violations. Cost of Pursuing this Approach:
The cost of pursuing this approach is difficult to estimate as it depends on the methods used, the resources available, and the cost of research. Timeline for Achieving Results:
The timeline for achieving results is also difficult to estimate, as it depends on the resources available and the amount of research that needs to be done. Mid-term and Final
Success Metrics:
Mid-term success metrics could be public awareness of the environmental and human rights impacts of lithium mining in Tibet, and final success metrics could be the implementation of sustainable practices in lithium mining in Tibet.
Score for Ability to Interest DARPA: 8/10
This research has the potential to make an impact in both the environmental and human rights arenas, and could be of interest to DARPA for its potential to make a positive difference.
