The Giant Battle Over The Critical Minerals That Power Our Future: Ernest Scheyder, Author, The War Below.
The world is in the midst of a monumental transition from fossil fuels to critical minerals. Those critical minerals, like lithium, cobalt and nickel, are the key ingredients in the batteries that power electric cars, cell phones, electric lawn mowers and more. Today, the minerals are extracted from the ground at mining sites around the world. Massive lithium deposits, for example, are located in Australia, Chile and Argentina. China has minerals, too. China also controls most of the world's mineral processing. As America and Europe step into the critical minerals era, there is a desire for greater access to and control over critical minerals. Now, teams of expert geologists are uncovering new deposits in North America. But after finding the minerals, the mining companies and their investors are confronting unexpected hurdles to clear before they can start mining. Indigenous groups and environmentalists are saying: "Not so fast" to new mines. This week on the Driving With Dunne, Ernest Scheyder, author of The War Below, gives us an inside look at the heating and complex battles over the rights to mine critical minerals.