Regulating Mining

Human rights issues in the mining sector—including child labor, exploitation of land rights, health and safety concerns, and environmental degradation—are particularly pronounced in the context of an energy transition that requires large supplies of minerals such as cobalt, copper, nickel, and lithium. Focusing on mining in Africa and other places in the Global South, we identify and assess solutions to human rights risks to ensure a just energy transition that provides development opportunities for miners and their communities. We focus on the 40 million-person “artisanal” mining sector in which human rights risks are most severe.