Grade 9 Science Journal (2022)

Nickel is a major component in EV battery cathodes. Nickel is becoming increasingly prevalent in EV battery cathodes to improve energy density and efficiency (North American Nickel, 2017).

The world’s two largest producers of nickel are Indonesia and the Philippines, where the metal is found just below the rainforest topsoil. Canada is the sixth largest producer of nickel, with its largest mine being Voisey’s Bay Mine located in Labrador (Garside, 2022).

The nickel in Indonesia and the Philippines is primarily found in lateritic ore which can extracted using surface mining (Agiboo, 2022). These large open pit mines result in extensive environmental degradation: deforestation, habitat loss, and soil erosion (Heberling, 2022).

Nickel Mining in Canada

Canada’s nickel is found in nickel sulfide, which is extracted through surface and underground mining (Investing News Network, 2022). Since most of the nickel is found deep underground in Canada, deforestation, habitat loss, and soil erosion are not as serious as in other parts of the world. However, the real problem occurs during the refining process. Nickel sulfide contains up to 30% sulfur and as much as 4 tons of sulfur dioxide (a major air pollutant) can be created in the extraction of 1 ton of nickel (World Bank, 1998). Thanks to stringent environmental regulations, Canadian companies use oxygen-deficient gas in their furnaces to prevent the creation of sulfur dioxide and capture much of the sulfur and turn it into sulfuric acid (Glencore, 2019).

Most of Canada’s nickel mines are located on traditional Indigenous lands. Voisey’s Bay Mine has had a partnership with the Innu and Inuit peoples since 1995 (Pearlman, 2020). In Manitoba, the Norway House Cree Nation and the Flying Nickel Mining Corporation are working together to make the greenest nickel mine in the world (Baxter, 2022).

The Real Cost of Nickel

On the other hand, Indigenous relations in Russia are not so positive. Here, Nornickel, the largest nickel producer in the world, has greatly damaged the lands of the Sámi, Nentsy, Nganasan, Entsy, Dolgan, and Evenki communities. In 2016, for example, a break in a slurry pipe caused the Daldykan River to turn a brilliant red. Additionally, in 2020, Nornickel accidentally released 21,000 tons of diesel oil into the local watershed (Cultural Survival, 2022).

Likewise, in Indonesia, nickel mining and smelting is destroying the rainforest and traditional livelihoods. Thousands of hectares of rainforest are being demolished, and tailings and mine sludge are polluting the rivers and oceans. The coastal people of the Moluccas who depend on fishing are losing their way of life, and the Indigenous people of Sulawesi are also upset about the expansion of nickel mining on their lands (Rainforest Rescue, 2022). In short, nickel mining in Russia, Indonesia, and the Philippines is ruining habits and causing harm to Indigenous communities, but luckily in Canada most of these problems have been resolved through negotiation with Canada’s Indigenous communities and through stringent environmental regulations.

Closing Thoughts

In short, nickel mining in Russia, Indonesia, and the Philippines is ruining habits and causing harm to Indigenous communities, but luckily in Canada most of these problems have been resolved through negotiation with Canada’s Indigenous communities and through stringent environmental regulations.

References:

Agiboo. (2022, December 9). Commodity nickel – everything you need to know about nickel. Agiboo. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.agiboo.com/nickel/

Baxter, D. (2022, February 21). Manitoba First Nations community, Mining Company sign on for ‘greenest’ nickel mine. thestar.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/02/21/manioba-first-nations-community-mining-company-sign-on-for-greenest-nickel-mine.html

Cultural Survival. (2022, June 1). Isolated and impacted by Nickel Mining: Indigenous communities in Russia search for avenues of justice. Isolated and Impacted by Nickel Mining: Indigenous Communities in Russia Search for Avenues of Justice. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/isolated-and-impacted-nickel-mining-indigenous-communities

Garside, M. (2022, March 11). Nickel: Production share worldwide by country. Statista. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/603621/global-distribution-of-nickel-mine-production-by-select-country/

Glencore. (2019, November 14). Towards cleaner air: How we monitor and reduce our emissions. Glencore. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.glencore.com/media-and-insights/insights/towards-cleaner-air

Heberling, M. (2022, April 7). The environmental downside of electric vehicles: Michael Heberling. FEE Freeman Article. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://fee.org/articles/the-environmental-downside-of-electric-vehicles

Investing News Network. (2022, August 24). Nickel deposits in Canada: A quick overview. INN. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://investingnews.com/innspired/nickel-deposits-in-canada/

Luhn, Alec. (2016, September 7). Investigation ordered as Russian river turns red. The Guardian. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/07/investigation-ordered-russia-daldykan-river-turns-red-norilsk

North American Nickel. (2017). Navigation. North American Nickel Inc. – Investors – Why Nickel. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.northamericannickel.com/English/investors/why-nickel/default.aspx

Opray, M. (2017, August 24). Nickel mining: The hidden environmental cost of Electric Cars. The Guardian. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/aug/24/nickel-mining-hidden-environmental-cost-electric-cars-batteries

Pearlman, C. (2020, November 30). Voisey’s Bay Mine, guardians and a path to Sustainability. Land Needs Guardians. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://landneedsguardians.ca/resources/from-standoff-to-stewardship

Rainforest Rescue. (2022, May 18). Open letter to Elon Musk from Indonesia: No to nickel mining for evs! Rainforest Rescue. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/updates/10856/open-letter-to-elon-musk-from-indonesia-no-to-nickel-mining-for-evs