One such example of the dilemma is southern Utah’s Colt Mesa, which was removed from within the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument under the Trump administration and stands to be swept back in under Biden.
Nick Proctor, who with his father owns the Colt Mesa’s mining claims, said the area contains grades of cobalt at higher concentrations than cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produces more than 60% of the world’s supply via thousands of child laborers.
In fact, some of the world’s largest tech companies like Tesla and Apple are being sued by families of dead or injured children from Congo who worked in the mines. The litigation asserts the companies’ unquenched thirst for cobalt — necessary in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries — is fostering human rights abuses.