General Motors has announced that it is joining the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, or IRMA, a multi-sector effort launched in 2006 that seeks to establish best practices in mining operations with consideration for environmental, social, and human rights issues.
General Motors joins IRMA in the midst of a transition to a new all-electric vehicle lineup. GM’s upcoming range of EVs will require a multitude of EV batteries, which will include the automaker’s latest Ultium cell technology. The production of the new EV batteries will require the mining of raw materials, and with that in mind, General Motors says that it is “committed to the responsible sourcing” of materials for the production of its new all-electric vehicles.
“GM recognizes the important role we play within our supply chain, and we’re committed to making sure it reflects our dedication to social and environmental priorities,” said GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, Shilpan Amin. “Joining IRMA will help us conduct business with suppliers and partners whose standards and actions align with our approach to integrity, responsible sourcing and supply chain management.”
IRMA works to establish best practices in mining through a set of standards across four broad principles, including “Business Integrity, Planning for Positive Legacies, Social Responsibility and Environmental Responsibility.”
In an effort to curb the effects of anthropogenic climate change, General Motors has announced plans to launch 30 new EV models globally by 2025. As GM Authority covered earlier this summer, it’s expected that the raw lithium required to build the batteries powering the new EVs will be sourced primarily from mining operations in the Salton Sea, located in Southern California. The Salton Sea holds one of the largest stores of lithium brine in the U.S., and is estimated to hold enough raw materials to supply upwards of 40 percent of global demand.
In order to extra the lithium, General Motors has signed an agreement with Controlled Thermal Resources, which claims that the extraction process is environmentally friendly, with the energy required for extraction sourced primarily from renewable sources.
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Comments
But, don’t frack. Same but different. What hypocrisy.
similar at face value ill give you that, but the main difference here is that the area in question is toxic, and uninhabitable. With extraction the site actually becomes less toxic. Fracking does not make a site less toxic, and often has an effect on inhabited areas.
Other than fracking doesn’t make a site more toxic. 🤦 🤦 🤦 and coal mining doesn’t create toxic sludge 😆 😆 😆 but I’m not a hippie so I guess I do t know what I’m talking about. Just an engineering degree so I’ve been trumped!
Jake
Didn’t know an engineering degree makes you an expert in all fields. You should be at a hospital. Helping neurosurgeons out with brain surgery. Instead of wasting your time on an automotive website.
In coal country, thousands of miles of rivers are devoid of plants and fish. Mainly due to water run off from the giant piles of useless rock the coal companies left behind. I would call that toxic
Huh???? You ever been fishing on the red river? Ohio river? White river? Best bass fishing in the world, right there in coal country. Better do your research before saying something dumb
So you fished on 3 rivers, and they weren’t polluted. That must mean no rivers are polluted.
Your logic is Fked. You should go back to the college that gave you that engineering degree and demand a refund
Dude, map it out. Those are the 3 main rivers that run coal country. All tributaries run into those, and ultimately the Ohio river. If pollution was bad, it would show. As far as the Ohio goes, it’s fairly clean till you go down stream of Cincinnati. Their storm drain dumps all the human waste and trash of a modern liberal city. But upstream in the tributaries, it’s clean and occasionally crystal clear. But what do I know? I’m just a local yokel who works in the energy industry as an engineer and spends all my time in the great outdoors. Illl never be more knowledgeable that a hippie far away in a big city who never gets out and about 🥸
Jake
So you work for the coal industry. Judging by the rate that coal fired power plants are shutting down, you’ll be on the unemployment real soon.
Maybe you can move to Cincinnati. Get a job at GE putting up wind turbines.
BTW: I’m one of these new age hippies. I have short hair. I shower daily, and dress nice. I’m not a vegetarian, but most of the animals I eat are vegetarian. So it still counts.
So if coal mining has no effect on water quality, please explain why Sunday Creek in southeast Ohio is in such bad shape
That’s a great f’ing answer 🙂
The Lithium brine is free flowing from wells. It is extremely corrosive. No need to frack. Salton Sea and Searles Lake near Ridgecrest, California have billions of tons of Lithium along with the Great Salt Lake.
Looks like woke gm has been hanging out with Brandon!
Sooooooooooo no more BEVs???? Or they will just cost a million dollars and GM will sell 50 a year to the global masters
Jake
My mistake. When you said “engineering degree” I assumed materials and design. You’re obviously the type of engineer that drives HO scale choo-choos.
Blah, blah, blah, just more Hollywood hype that demonstrates just how ignorant GM leadership is.
So what about the child labor to mine the lithium in Africa and China? Come on GM, don’t try to distract by saying that you’re doing good over here, but turning a blind eye over there. If you’re going to make a statement like this, don’t purchase any of the material mined by slave labor – kind of like blood diamonds…..Come on man!
Let’s Go Brandon!
gm says they care. So let the strip mining begin!