This is the environment devastation that is caused by Lithium minning in Somaliland Agabar area45 miles away from Hargeisa. The company who is mining should be accountable to what’s happening there . There are so dangerous that most of us aren’t aware what is happening to the environment insects animals water . There are also so many archaeological sites that are surrounded there some of them older than Lasgeel and others rock paintings that are endangered from the environmental devastation. . Team of experts are needed to go there and make assessment to what happened there and share results with the public and people of Somaliland and make accountable to to the company that caused all those devastation and bring to justice.
For the past 10 years the company has digging huge bore holes in so many kilometers and they are dug hundreds of feet deep that’s so dangerous to people animals insects water sanitation and seeks poison to the environment whom people drink and animals and no one is making them accountable for covering those huge holes dug on the ground. The workers are paid so little amount of money and no one tells them the diseases that those minerals cause to human and they don’t proper protection gears that are required by to wear when digging those and so many are already sick and suffering without anyone speaking for them and protecting their rights. There are so many rich people ministers chiefs tugs from all over the world including including faqash rulers of Somalia that have shares with the company.
I urge human rights activists and organizations should come and do investigations to what’s happening there and help our people from this crisis and crimes that’s taking place there.
Aluta continue.
When digging for lithium, the primary dangers are not from the raw lithium itself, but from the highly destructive mining processes and the toxic chemical byproducts that result. This causes widespread environmental devastation, including water pollution, land degradation, and the release of other harmful substances.
Environmental dangers of lithium mining
Water scarcity and contamination
Depletion of groundwater: One major extraction method, especially in South America’s “Lithium Triangle,” involves pumping large volumes of lithium-rich brine from underground aquifers to the surface. The water is then left to evaporate over months or years in large ponds. This process consumes vast amounts of water, depleting local freshwater reserves in already arid regions. In Chile’s Atacama region, this process uses up to 65% of the local water supply.
Contamination from toxic chemicals: The chemical-intensive process of separating lithium from ore can lead to water pollution. Chemicals like sulfuric acid can contaminate nearby rivers, lakes, and vital groundwater sources, endangering aquatic life and human health in surrounding communities.
Land degradation and habitat destruction
Open-pit mining: Hard rock mining for lithium involves extensive open-pit operations that strip away immense amounts of topsoil and rock. This causes deforestation, soil erosion, and the permanent destruction of critical habitats, displacing wildlife and disrupting entire ecosystems.
Toxic waste tailings: The mining process generates massive quantities of toxic waste known as tailings. Environmentalists have raised concerns over the containment of this waste, noting that a collapse could release harmful materials that contaminate land and water for hundreds of miles.
Air pollution
Harmful dust and fumes: Mining operations release fine dust particles into the air, which can cause respiratory problems for nearby communities. Processing the extracted ore can also release toxic fumes.
Hazardous materials: In some projects, especially those using “Direct Lithium Extraction,” hazardous byproducts like arsenic, lead, and cadmium may be produced and must be disposed of safely to prevent air contamination.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Energy-intensive process: While lithium-ion batteries are central to clean energy, the traditional extraction process is highly energy-intensive and often relies on fossil fuels. This results in a significant carbon footprint that contributes to climate change.
Digging safety for lithium batteries versus mining
It’s important to distinguish between the industrial dangers of lithium mining and the much smaller, but still present, danger of digging up discarded lithium-ion batteries:
Mined lithium vs. processed batteries: The environmental issues in mining concern the large-scale extraction and processing of the element itself. For the average person, the more common risk is improperly handling or discarding lithium-ion batteries, which are a concentrated form of the material.
Recycling challenges: Many lithium-ion batteries end up in landfills. When they leak, they can release toxic metals and cause fires or explosions from “thermal runaway”. This risk is why safety authorities like OSHA and the MSHA have issued safety alerts and require special training for handling these devices.
Toxic metals: Leaks from disposed lithium-ion batteries can contaminate ecosystems with toxic metals like arsenic, cadmium, and cobalt, posing health risks to humans and animals.
majority of those top leaders are share holders of the company that’s doing the digging and get paid big time while the surrounding community leaders only get paid 2000dollars from thousands of trucks that collected soil and sells it to foreign countries and companies and getting paid billions of dollars because this is a very mineral that can be found only very few places in the DRC whom foreign companies have been exploiting for decades and millions of people die every year specially kids as old as 5 years and this what’s now appearing to happen in Somaliland specially Agabar and as far eastern regions in which armed gangs are digging gold and rare minerals that no one is keeping an eye on them.
We need to wake up the community doesn’t know what they get their hands on and the kind of work they are doing it. As far as as we know there are also more dangerous minerals that’s available in that region including Uranium which is very rare in our country. The owner have done extensive research of air photos and dug holes as deep as 250 long and he did surveys 3D work and found that so much minerals that’s commercially valuable and can be sold in the world market. He collected truck loads of minerals and soils and other materials and sent to foreign countries for testing and found out what types of minerals found in that whole region and he has got all that information for himself and few other of his cronies exploiting the mineral and getting paid millions of dollars while the people in the region are all in danger and suffering from what this industry has caused. The company didn’t put anything back to the company such as medical facilities hospitals schools housing roads nothing at all the community profits except exploitation in the highest level. This has been going on for over ten years.
By. Najib Ahmed Shunuf
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Araweelo News Network.
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