Better In Our Back Yard’s Post

Great talking to Hannah Northey of Politico/EE News about the Department of Labor's addition of Indonesian nickel to the annual listing of products produced with forced labor this last week. My view here: Todd Malan, Talon's chief external affairs officer and head of climate strategy, applauded the agency's listing and said it adds new weight to the clear "reputational risk" of sourcing nickel from Chinese producers in Indonesia. Talon, notably, is pursuing a nickel project in Tamarack, Minnesota, through a joint venture with Rio Tinto and has received support from Tesla Inc., through a nonbinding off-take agreement for the minerals. "In the last seven years, Chinese investment in Indonesian nickel production has ramped-up without regard for environmental impacts, labor and safety standards, economic benefits for communities or impacts on uncontacted indigenous people," said Malan. "The Department of Labor’s forced labor designation this week is just one more reason that a mineral free trade agreement between the US and Indonesia is highly unlikely in the near future." https://lnkd.in/geW6uCth