2026 Transition Minerals Tracker finds sharp rise in human rights allegations linked to transition mineral mining

The Transition Minerals Tracker 2026 warns that the rapid expansion of renewable energy, electrification and battery technologies is driving a surge in human rights abuses at mines supplying transition minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, bauxite, manganese, nickel and rare earths. The Tracker recorded 329 new allegations in 2025, a 73% year-on-year increase, including a 50% rise in attacks on defenders and a doubling of worker rights violations, with Indigenous Peoples disproportionately affected. Ten companies and 33 mines accounted for half of the allegations, close to half of implicated mines had no basic public human rights policy, and nearly 70% of implicated projects are linked to listed companies. The authors call for rights-based governance, respect for free, prior and informed consent, and stronger regulation and investor accountability across mineral supply chains.

Source: adapted from Business and Human rights center, Jun 2026.