It is dirty and destructive to extract nickel from electric car batteries. The plant is about to become an experiment in sustainable mining.
By Hannah.
Photographs by Adam Dean.
Dec. 30, 2021.
The Coral Sea stretches into the South Pacific from the reef-fringed coast of New Caledonia. The shoreline has Slender native pines that are similar to Christmas trees. The landscape, one of the most biodiverse on the planet, is beautiful until the crest of a hill where a different vista unfolds: a red earth pierced by belching smokestacks and giant trucks.
Goro is the largest nickel mine on a tiny French territory that may hold up to a quarter of the world's nickel reserves. It poses a critical test for the world's largest electric vehicle maker, which wants to take control of its supply chain and ensure that the minerals used for its car batteries are mined in an socially responsible fashion.
The model for a green industry confronting an uncomfortable contradiction could be found in the strategy of the largest electric vehicle maker in the world. The process of harvesting essential ingredients like nickel is dirty, destructive and often politically fraught as consumers are attracted to electric vehicles for their clean reputation.
One of the world's largest carbon emitters is New Caledonia. The exploitation of its Indigenous Kanak people is linked to the mining that began after New Caledonia was colonized. Goro has been left with a legacy of stolen land and crushed traditions, which has left the nickel output at the mercy of labor strikes and political protests.
If done right, the approach by the company could lead the way in setting global standards for the electric vehicle revolution. Western car companies can begin sidestepping China, which currently dominates the production of electric vehicle batteries.
Goro will serve as a cautionary tale of how hard it is to achieve true sustainable living. The bumper stickers for a car are called going green or acting local. Meeting these ideals will require more than just cash and innovation, but also savvy about one of the most remote places on the planet, a scattering of French-ruled islands on the verge of independence. Some of the world's biggest nickel miners tried to make money at Goro.
Antonin Beurrier is the chief executive of Prony Resources, the group that took ownership of the Goro nickel facility. We have to change the business.
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A mine truck driver is about to start his shift. New Caledonia may hold up to 25% of the world's nickel reserves, as demand for nickel in batteries for electric vehicles increases.
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Electric vehicles have a green reputation, but the process of building them is dirty.
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The nickel mine has Enormous vehicles. The Prony mine is working with a new customer to change that.
Reinventing business is Mr. Musk's motto. The mine is plagued by political and environmental crises and has positioned itself as the ideal force that can transform it.
Mr. Musk insists on buying a large share of the major metals he needs for car batteries directly from mines around the world to ensure that he has all that he needs as vehicle production increases and a global competition for these materials increases. A manager who used to work at the Goro facility helped shepherd his plan, with the company securing a deal in October to directly purchase up to one-third of Goro's nickel over the next five years.
The vision of what Goro could become is exciting. The nickel processing facility would be powered by renewable energy. The toxic liquid waste would be packaged in a neat, dry way. Local communities would decide how best to make money from natural resources on tribal land.
By The New York Times.
In a report,Tesla said all the right things. By working directly with a mine, rather than buying nickel from a middleman, the company could address sustainable issues such as biodiversity impact, energy consumption, human rights and tailings management.
The report said thatTesla works directly with mineral producers and that they are committed to supplying sustainable and responsible materials.
There are allegations of environmental and human-rights abuses in some of the countries where metals are mined. The race to lock up access to minerals has left companies scrambling. Mr. Musk wrote on his account that his company's biggest concern was ensuring an adequate nickel supply. Nickel is used to make batteries.
After Mr. Musk spoke to the media, employees of the company rarely spoke to the media. Any scrutiny of their supply chain, even of new efforts to clean things up, could be a problem for automakers that need minerals and materials from all over the world. Car companies have been criticized for their use of cobalt in unsafe conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
New Caledonia can pull off the feat of green nickel. The French overseas territory of New Caledonia has strict European environmental and labor standards because of its status. The government is led by a coalition of Indigenous Kanaks, generations of European settlers and newer French arrivals, as well as Asians and Pacific islanders who came to work the mines, and is eager to protect local rights.
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The Goro tribal area is located in the north. The landscape of New Caledonia, a series of remote islands in the South Pacific, is stunningly beautiful away from the nickel mining.
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The first Kanak president in the territory is Louis Mapou, who took power after the Goro conflict.
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There is a playground in a poor neighborhood. The Indigenous Kanaks are often at the bottom of the wealth gap.
Indonesia and the Philippines are two major nickel producers that have loose regulations. They can produce nickel at a much lower cost than New Caledonia can. To compete against low-cost rivals, New Caledonia is now positioning itself as a supplier of top-grade nickel for rechargeable batteries rather than the cheaper product used forStainless steel.
In an interview, the territory's president, Louis Mapou, said that New Caledonia contributes to the fight against global warming. We respect human rights, respect the rights of local people, and respect the environment, even though we have high production costs.
Natural resource extraction is a sensitive issue in New Caledonia. The campaign to move away from fossil fuels has contributed to the 25 percent increase in nickel prices this year. That has not led to more profits for miners.
Vale was desperate to rid itself of the mine. The kind of supply chain disruption that could be disastrous forTesla was caused by protests over who would buy the nickel processing plant. The fall of the government in New Caledonia was caused by the conflict.
In the history of nickel, there has been a battle between the multinational and the local populations, according to Mr. Mapou, who is the territory's first Kanak president. The Goro plant is still fragile despite the compromise that has been made with the new ownership ofTesla.
There are charred cars on the coastal road to Goro. The vehicles that were burned are remnants of the monthslong struggle that led to the collapse of New Caledonia's government. They are a reminder of the tense politics that could derail the effort to secure a steady supply of nickel.
Hundreds of Kanaks barricaded the road with burning tires and vehicles this year, causing the mine's operations to be disrupted.
Mr. Vama said that they have been against the mine from the beginning. The Kanaks, who are victims of history, are not in control of what should be ours.
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There are charred vehicles on the way to the Prony mine.
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Local opposition stems from both political concerns and environmental fears.
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There are photos of previous mine dispute protest.
Local opposition to the mine is caused by both political and environmental concerns. The Goro processing plant began operations in 2010 after years of wrangling over land rights with local Kanaks. The facility had five spills within five years.
100,000 liters of waste gushed into a creek from the biggest leak in the year. Environmental groups say thousands of fish died.
The site of one of the deadliest disasters in recent history was a mine run by Vale. The Vale iron Ore mine in Brazil had a dam that burst in the middle of the year, killing 270 people. The Goro waste dam was designed differently according to the Vale management in New Caledonia. But the way it was done was alarming.
Denis Loustalet, the chiefsustainability officer for Prony Resources, said that they had work to do to show that safety andsustainability are their top priorities. One small accident is too much.
Goro has been a point of contention in the fight for independence. Kanaks set fire to Goro's facilities after the spill, which were linked in local minds to a colonial authority. The mine stopped production for a while. The damage was estimated by Vale at $30 million.
The most recent protest began late last year when New Caledonians were voting in an independence referendum. Kanaks took to the streets when the vote was close. Vale had already announced that it wanted out of New Caledonia and was negotiating to transfer ownership to Trafigura, a scandal-tainted international commodity trader.
The Kanak community was excluded from the original Goro negotiations. The Goro complex was set on fire once again by Kanak workers and villagers after rumors of Vale's intentions spread.
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The mine site has an overview. It takes a lot of energy to extract nickel andcobalt from Goro's earth, which is rich in the key ingredients for the batteries used in electric vehicles.
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The workers are repairing a motor. The dirty coal that powers the processing plant will be replaced by a large collection of solar panels.
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The plant processes nickel. The exploitation of its Indigenous Kanak people is linked to the mining that began after Europeans arrived in New Caledonia.
Police officers were hurt. The mine complex was damaged again and cost tens of millions of dollars.
The elder brother of President Mapou was one of the instigators of the violence.
The provincial government, mine workers and local members of the community were able to reach a compromise in March, controlling 51 percent of Goro's new ownership consortium, Prony Resources. The 25 percent that Trafigura was supposed to take has been reduced to 19 percent.
Kanak political leaders welcomed the deal with joy, saying it will force Goro to adhere to high standards.
Sarah Maryssael is the group manager for the responsible source of battery metals at the automaker. The Prony chief executive, Mr. Beurrier, said that she was an Australian engineer who had worked at Goro.
The president of New Caledonia's Congress said that the conflict with the Kanaks would not be where it is today if it weren't for it. We know the world is watching to make sure we take green nickel seriously, so we can sleep peacefully.
He said the deal made that happen.
The key ingredients in the batteries used for electric vehicles are nickel andcobalt. It takes a lot of energy to extract minerals. A lot of hazardous emissions is what that means.
First, excavators, loaders, and trucks scoop up the earth and trundle it away. The coal-fired facility uses high-pressure blasts of sulfuric acid at high temperature to extract nickel and cobalt.
Prony Resources will be carbon neutral by 10 years after halving its carbon emissions. The waste from the plant will be transformed into dry waste using a new system with $420 million in investment.
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The nickel mine in Goro has toxic sludge waste from the mining process.
The dirty coal that powers the plant will be replaced by solar panels. Native plants will thrive in the shade.
It will be well received by the Goro consumers, who are environmental conscious. In July, the company signed a nickel supply deal. The agreement promised to use the technology to trace the mineral supply chain.
Goro and the other mines won't be able to give all the nickel it needs to go green.
Some of the batteries used in the cars ofTesla are made from nickel. The Philippines, Indonesia and Madagascar are places where there are allegations of environmental and labor violations. Requests for comment were not responded to.
Electric vehicles emit more carbon dioxide than cars run on fossil fuels because nickel mining is so energy intensive.
Efforts to streamline the battery-making process have some stumbling blocks. Most of the nickel destined for electric vehicle batteries goes to China.
China dominates battery making after a decade of state encouragement. Western carmakers can't charge their electric cars without Beijing. According to Trafigura, Europe controls less than 5 percent of the process. The United States is not a player.
It would be better to avoid an overreliance on China by having batteries produced in Texas, Germany and Ohio byTesla. By securing nickel in places like New Caledonia or Australia, then sending the mineral directly to its own battery-making facilities, it would be possible to reduce its shipping carbon footprint.
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Before the bag is sealed and shipped, a sample of nickel is taken.
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The Goro plant is where sacks of nickel are loaded into containers.
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The boys don't like it when Marie-Michle Robert-Agourere tests samples at the nickel mine.
The China factor plays a part in Pacific politics. The only part of Melanesia that is not heavily influenced by Beijing is New Caledonia. French loyalists argued that if New Caledonia broke free, they would have to trade one of their colonial masters for a Chinese one.
The French government has signed off on about $200 million in loans to keep Goro afloat.
The push into green nickel isn't just for global competitive advantage according to Christopher Gygs, New Caledonia's minister for economy, foreign trade and energy. We want to show that we have the right labor and environmental standards.
Mr. Gygs said that we are not China, we are not Indonesia, and we are not the Philippines. We are in the Pacific.
Marie-Michle Robert-Agourere is a poster child for the social benefits of the mine. She was raised in a village. The lab is staffed by eight women and two men, the kind of ratio that might please a socially conscious buyer.
The boys don't like it because it requires a lot of precision.
The mine is helping Kanaks who might otherwise struggle to find jobs. 40 percent of Kanak youth are unemployed, according to political leaders. Kanaks can attend universities in France, but few Indigenous people have advanced degrees.
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A wealthy neighborhood.
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A calf is being tagged on a farm. In 1890, the great grandfather of the farm's owner settled in New Caledonia, where he worked at the French penal colony. The original French settlers raised cattle in New Caledonia.
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An outdoor gym is on a promenade. Black people have a sharper disparity in wealth in New Caledonia.
There is a visible racial divide at Goro. The head of Prony Resources is white and grew up in France. Most of the mine's top managers are white. The drivers and laborers are from Kanak.
For centuries, nickel has been at the center of politics in New Caledonia, and will have to contend with this freighted history.
James Cook sailed past Prony Bay, which is near the Goro mine. The French colonized New Caledonia in the 19th century and nickel was found in the soil.
The Kanaks were forced onto reservations by the French settlers. White settlers were given mining concessions.
The ethnic balance was shifted when the French brought in mine workers from Asia. In less than 75 years, the population of Kanaks dwindled due to disease, conflict and the harsh reality of life under an abusive colonial power.
In the 1980s, Paris promised change after the armed conflict in New Caledonia. Kanaks were given stakes in the nickel industry. Goro's processing plant became majority local ownership this year.
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40 percent of Kanak youth are unemployed.
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Families living in slum housing in Nouméa are unpacking food boxes that have been donated by supermarkets.
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Jacques Atti had relatives with him shortly before his wedding in Goro. He and his bride worked at the mine before the protest. He declined to do so after she returned.
It is likely that tensions will return to the mine because of Goro's environmental and political legacy. The territory has a history of racial and colonial discrimination.
Goro still depends on a dangerous process to produce nickel that involves acid and slurry at high heat and pressure. The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance is an industry benchmark that covers everything from waste management to Indigenous people's rights, according to the report.
IRMA is tougher than any national mining law. Mr. Beurrier said he had never heard of it.
One day, if it comes up with a way to use other metals in its batteries, it could leave Goro without a dominant buyer that demands better practices.
In an earnings call in October, Drew Baglino, a senior vice president atTesla, said that it doesn't need to be nickel or cobalt. There is always another option.
The wedding of Sabrina Manique and Jacques Atti was a joyful occasion. Both worked at Goro, but Mr. Atti helped with the blockade. He didn't want to go back to a place that he thought was oppression. Ms. Manique is driving a truck.
On his wedding day, Mr. Atti said that he would do what he wanted.
Some of the wedding guests were people who worked at Goro and others who were against it. Those who depend on the mine for their livelihoods were skeptical that tribal land could be torn up without consequences.
Gilbert Atti, the groom's brother, said that green nickel was not for them. Tell that to that company.
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Truck drivers head to work.
Eric Lipton is a reporter.
