How the race for critical minerals is creating ‘sacrifice zones,’ impacting the world’s poorest people

Without binding regulations, mining for critical minerals will worsen the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

A woman sifts cobalt and copper using a homemade tool in a muddy pit at an artisanal mine site on May 25, 2025 in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo. [Photo: Getty Images]

There is a troubling contradiction at the heart of the global transition to a cleaner, greener, tech-driven future: Modern technologies—everything from AI to wind turbines, as well as cellphones, electric vehicles and defense systems—depend on critical minerals. But many of the communities where those........

© Fast Company