𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Ed Miliband must not overlook “dirty” supply chains in his push for the switch to electric vehicles, campaigners have warned.

It comes as a British-founded mine in Ghana, supplying manganese for EV vehicles globally, could be polluting surrounding communities.

The Nsuta Mine, near Tarkwa, was discovered by a British explorer a century ago. Manganese found there helped fuel Britain’s war effort, being used for the steel Brodie helmets worn by British troops in World War One.

The mine itself became such a point of imperial pride that it even appeared on British postage stamps.

But now campaigners at Global Witness believe waste could be contaminating water supplies and causing health problems for communities surrounding it.

Local Maryam Ackah said: “They are polluting us with chemicals, the dust, the fumes. We have bad itching, inhaling of dust.

“You can’t plant vegetables, like coconut or plantain, because the dust settles on the leaves. It makes you afraid to eat it.”

Jacob Ajelu, another resident, added: “We are inhaling dust every day, we have scratching and rashes, we are coughing, we have asthma”.

Isaaka Ayimbila said: “When we use the water from the streams, it destroys our crops.”

Global Witness interviewed dozens of people in communities around the mine who described chronic breathing problems, skin and eye irritation.

The investigators warned manganese from the mine, which is majority owned by Chinese company Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry Group, goes to China where it is refined before entering a global supply chain which supports some of the biggest EV manufacturers, including Tesla.

Emily Iona Stewart, head of policy and advocacy at Global Witness, said: “It is shocking to see the damage wrought on local communities in Ghana through the mining of manganese, no matter how essential it is for the green transition.

“The health of communities should not be at the expense of profit-making companies exploiting land for resources.

“A key driver of Ghanaian manganese mining is for electric vehicle batteries. The climate crisis calls for a necessary energy transition, with electrification a key aspect. But mining for minerals must be just and fair.”

She added: “Companies should be aware of what automotive demand for electric vehicles means for environments like these.

“Targets can be an effective way to motivate companies to shift away from polluting petrol vehicles, but any goals set by the Government shouldn’t overlook dirty supply chains.

“Really, the focus needs to be on public transport investment, rather than single-use EV vehicles, which can be expensive and inaccessible.”

Ghana is the fourth largest producer of manganese in the world, a metal crucial to emerging EV technologies which are viewed as “cheaper and greener” than nickel or cobalt.

An academic study in 2022 warned the carcinogenic risk was “high” in the mine’s surface water and “extremely high” in the mine pit water.

In their conclusion, the researchers added: “This is because when the heavy metals are dispersed in colloidal suspensions, they can eventually be introduced into the human body through consumption of the contaminated water, which will result in diverse health implications.

“One of Africa’s largest manganese mines is located in the Nsuta area in western Ghana and mining in this area may pose a great threat to the health of the local residents.

“The local residents are exposed to adverse health risks through the ingestion of water contaminated with heavy metals as a result of the high Hazard Index and Carcinogenic Risk values.”

The UK’s switch to electric vehicles has reached a major milestone, with more than two million electric vehicles now registered nationwide.

The combination of falling prices, wider model choice and expanding charging infrastructure is pushing record levels of demand, with March this year marking the strongest month for EV sales on record.

Labour has pressed ahead with a 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles and a 2035 ban on new hybrid vehicles.

Consultant battery electrochemist Dr Euan McTurk, of Plug Life Consulting Ltd, told how a new “electric battery passport”, which will become a legal requirement on all EVs in 2027, will help clean up supply chains.

“Even although we’re no longer part of the EU, when it comes to electric vehicles, we basically are by proxy. They’re going to make battery passports mandatory.

“The battery passport basically is a digital document that you can scan a QR code on that battery pack and it will tell you everything about that battery. And one of the things it tells you is the supply chain, so the origin of all the components that are in there.

“And that is going to be used to not only reduce the carbon footprint of the production of batteries and their minerals but it’s also going to use to improve the ethics of it as well because if you’re found to be using exclusively cobalt that was dug up by a child somewhere in the Democratic Republic of Congo obviously you’re not going to be able to sell a car in the EU let alone be liked by members of the public.”

He added: “What’s interesting about manganese is it’s generally considered an ethical alternative to cobalt. So it’s valid work that Global Witness has done to point out that mining of any mineral does require proper dust suppression, proper wastewater control and that’s stuff that could easily be implemented today because we’ve been mining all sorts of minerals for centuries and we’ve become quite good at processing waste and avoiding contamination when we want to.”

TMI was approached for comment.