Critical minerals extraction linked to clean energy technologies could put more than a third of Africa’s great apes at risk, raising urgent questions for a just energy transition.
Critical minerals extraction and the risk to great apes
More than one third of Africa’s great ape population is threatened by critical minerals extraction. This is troubling news for the energy transition, as these species could lose their habitats due to the rising demand for materials essential to clean energy technologies.
Several regions of West Africa, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali and Guinea, are particularly exposed. In Guinea alone, mining activities could affect up to 83 percent of the country’s primate population. Overall, around 180,000 great apes are at risk across the continent.
The study behind the figures
The data comes from a study carried out by the Texas-based environmental organisation Re:wild and published in Science Advances. Researchers overlaid the locations of active and planned mining sites in 17 African countries with available data on the density and distribution of ape populations.
They also mapped a 50-kilometre buffer zone around each mining site. This approach considered both direct impacts on great apes, such as noise pollution, habitat loss and the spread of disease, and indirect pressures, including the construction of access roads and other supporting infrastructure.
From batteries to wind turbines
Materials such as cobalt, manganese and graphite, all critical for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, are widely found in these areas. The same applies to other minerals, including bauxite, platinum and lithium itself, which are key inputs for renewable technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Recycling and transparency as alternatives
The NGO calls on companies to halt mining operations in areas that are crucial for great ape conservation. To reduce pressure on these species, it argues that industry should focus more strongly on recycling critical materials.
The proposal also urges greater transparency from mining companies, encouraging them to carry out and publish biodiversity assessments for potential mining sites. According to the authors, protecting wildlife while advancing the energy transition is possible, but only if environmental safeguards are treated as a priority rather than an afterthought.
