Lithium batteries

[gbaglo]

Sorry to bring this to your attention.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens...balt-1.5399492

[stratos175]

THANKS for sharing this, I will be curious to see where this goes but afraid it will be drug out forever.

Enjoy the journey.

Steve

[UncleTim]

You did a service to us all by showing us that.



Unbelievable.


Thank you.

[rubicon327]

Not at all diminishing the significance of this article and the apparent abuses related to cobalt mining, but just wanted to point out that lithium batteries like Battleborn that have been installed by some users into their trailers are LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry. They do not use cobalt.

The batteries they are referring to in the article are battery types like lithium cobalt oxide, LiCoO2, which certainly are common in our cell phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, etc. or Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide(LiNiCoAlO2), among other chemistries, used in medical devices, electric vehicles, etc.

My point is that they are not all created equal and we shouldn't paint all lithium batteries with a broad brush.

[Greg A]

Reminds me of the articles years ago on the textile sweat shops. Hopefully, improvements were made in those industries, but sort of doubt it. Sad things that go on in this world.
As Dave pointed out the Cobalt is unrelated to the battery chemistry used for the trailer batteries, but Cobalt batteries are used in other devices that we may have.
IE. Apple iPhones, iPads, etc use a predominant Cobalt chemistry for their batteries and were trying at one point to setup direct purchasing from the Cobalt mines in the Congo.

[Brian B-P]

In addition to Dave's excellent comments about the reality of battery composition, I'll also note that production of cobalt didn't just appear for the lithium-ion battery industry - it has been used for a long time, for high-performance alloys, catalysts, permanent magnets, electroplating, pigments (ever heard of "cobalt blue"?), and radioisotopes (radiation sources). Even if you use only non-cobalt batteries, there is cobalt in your life. It has been produced in various locations - there's even a town in Ontario named Cobalt due to its presence in local mines (which were primarily for silver).

None of that excuses what is apparently happening in some cobalt mines, but it's also a reminder that the material is not in itself bad.