Every electric vehicle, grid-scale battery, wind turbine, and modern defense system relies on metals like nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. These are not niche materials — they are the physical foundation of the energy transition and modern infrastructure.
The scale of demand is significant. The International Energy Agency and World Bank project that demand for these minerals will increase dramatically over the coming decades, far beyond what current land-based mining can supply alone.
The question is not whether we source these materials. The question is how — and at what cost to people and the environment.
