United States | Cobalt blues

A millennial is building America’s first nickel-cobalt refinery

But it’s proving ethically trickier than she expected

The construction site of Westwins pilot plant in Lawton.
Photograph: WhiteWolfCreative, Nick Bright and Paul Lawson's team
|LAWTON, OKLAHOMA

Kaleigh Long believed there had to be an American fix. As an Oklahoman working on political campaigns in the Democratic Republic of Congo she saw all too closely the bloodiness of the critical-mineral trade. Militias killed her flatmate’s siblings, burnt homes on resource-rich land and forced children to dig in the mines—as Chinese companies tolerated the abuses.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Cobalt blues”

From the March 2nd 2024 edition

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