An Idaho cobalt mine could help transition the US to green energy, but at a cost. The trade-off isn’t lost on conservationists
Illuminating a debate: As this mine in Germany’s Ore Mountains shows, extracting cobalt (and other elements) isn’t the open and shut case some claim. Photo: Jan Woitas/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
By Jordan Rane. December 21, 2022. Common ground is something conservationists tend not to share with the mining industry. Especially in spectacular wildlands like Idaho’s Salmon-Challis National Forest—one of the largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48.
One qualified exception could be a giant cobalt mine scheduled to open at full capacity in the area next year.
The new mine, northwest of Challis, was purchased in 2019 by Australia-based Jervois Global Limited, which has since invested more than $100 million in the project, as reported by The Idaho Statesman.
The enterprise, broadly supported by state officials, calls for the extraction of millions of tons of ore from the cobalt-rich slopes of Salmon-Challis, which is said to be one of the planet’s greatest untapped sources of the increasingly precious silver-blue metal.
Alongside nickel and lithium, cobalt is a vital ingredient in the production of lithium-ion batteries used for electric vehicles, providing chemical stability to ensure both safety and proper function.
The anticipated haul at the Jervois mine could supply 10% of current U.S. cobalt demands—or enough cobalt to help power about 400,000 EVs per year.
Conflicting impulses
Herein lies the conundrum for enviros. While extracting cobalt means damaging the earth in ways they typically oppose, some are cautiously accepting the opening of the massive cobalt mine in rugged central Idaho as a bitter means to a better end.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is directly tied to electrifying transportation—and cobalt is an important element in this transition, said Josh Johnson, acting Central Idaho director of the Idaho Conservation League, in the Statesman report.
“It is not appropriate for us living here in America to drive all our electric vehicles and just export the environmental harms of that elsewhere,” Johnson said, noting the Conservation League plans to closely monitor the Jervois mine to ensure the company’s stated environmental requirements are met.
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Simply “mining our way to clean energy,” said Johnson, still isn’t the overarching solution. “Mining is the biggest toxic polluter of water in the western U.S. historically—and to this day. So we need to balance those things in an appropriate way.”
State leaders see the cobalt mine as a win-win-win—addressing global warming, national security and the local economy. When fully staffed, the mine is expected to employ up to 180 workers.
“If it’s good for cobalt, it’s good for a lot of other stuff, too, that we badly need,” U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told The Idaho Statesman.
Risch’s support of the Jervois mine is backed by Idaho’s leading Republican delegates, including Sen. Mike Crapo, as well as Rep. Russ Fulcher and Rep. Mike Simpson.
“It’s a huge issue, and I’m tickled to see the cobalt mine finally open,” Simpson told the Statesman.
Strategic cobalt
About 70% of the world’s cobalt supply is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
China controls the majority of the cobalt market, refining an estimated 80% of the world supply, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. leaders have positioned China’s market dominance a national security threat.
The Biden administration has set a goal of having half of U.S. car sales be electric by 2030.
Cobalt will increasingly factor into all of this. And Idaho cobalt, imminently.
Untapped beauty: The Salmon–Challis National Forest in east-central sections of Idaho contains most of the land area of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness. Photo: USFS
“We’re temporary custodians here,” Bryce Crocker, Jervois’ CEO, said of the Idaho mine, offering assurances that the latest cobalt harvesting technology will ensure responsible mining and limited long-term impact. “When you come back past here in 30 or 40 years, you won’t be able to tell that there was ever a mine here.”
If you’re skeptical of that statement, you’re not alone.
“It’s important for all of us to remember that mining companies are just that—they’re mining companies,” Johnson countered to the Statesman, unearthing more than a grain of salt. “They are beholden to their shareholders. They are trying to maximize profits. They are not altruistically trying to solve the climate crisis.”
Columbia Insight contributing editor Jordan Rane is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in CNN.com, Outside, Men’s Journal and the Los Angeles Times.
