Digging deeper: Assessing the trade-offs of domestic cobalt mining in the United States of America

Cobalt is a critical mineral for the global shift to decarbonized energy systems. Cobalt supply chains, however, raise urgent questions about their stability and environmental impact, and are embroiled in human rights issues. Recent U.S. federal initiatives have intensified efforts to onshore critical mineral mining. The goals of onshoring include securing domestic sources and reducing China's dominance over mineral supply chains. Although large cobalt deposits are rare in the U.S., southeastern Idaho has a significant and untapped source. Accessing U.S domestic reserves of cobalt, like other critical minerals, involves complex trade-offs at the intersection of decarbonization, national security, and global supply chain dynamics. Drawing on qualitative interviews with diverse stakeholders, this study unpacks these trade-offs and challenges. These interrelated challenges include environmental degradation, access and quality of reserves, economic interests, and the disproportionate risks of mining to Indigenous communities. We integrate expert and community perspectives to highlight the profound moral complexities at the core of U.S. critical mineral onshoring efforts, exemplified through cobalt mining. We urge policymakers and scholars to grapple with the layered consequences of cobalt mining and demonstrate that sustainability questions must necessarily be considered across geographies and contexts. • Decarbonization initiatives rely on increased mining of critical minerals. • Geopolitics and supply chain risks have ushered in the impetus to mine more minerals in the USA. • Domestic mining in the USA creates a series of moral, social, and environmental trade-offs. • If decarbonization is to be just, it must contend with these trade-offs to minimize harm and maximize community benefits.