Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 : 26-Apr-19

Several nickel producers may resume production at mothballed mines in Western Australia amid growing demand for ethically-sourced cobalt. The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted for nearly 55 per cent of global supply of cobalt – a byproduct of nickel mining in WA – in 2016. However, BMW has signalled that its next generation of electric cars will only use cobalt from Australia or Morocco. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s mining industry has been widely criticised for unsafe working conditions and the use of forced labour.

CORPORATES
BMW AG, FIRST QUANTUM MINERALS LIMITED, PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, GLENCORE PLC, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, HONDA MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, PANASONIC