Large rise in abuse claims at mines that may be vital to EU’s energy transition, report says

Bucket-wheel excavators mine rare earth materials in Ukraine. The country was second only to Russia in the number of abuse allegations last year. Photograph: Libkos/Getty Images

Mines on the EU’s periphery that could be critical to its energy transition have recorded a large rise in allegations of abuse ranging from workplace deaths to soil pollution, a report has found, with a threefold increase in 2024 from the average of the five previous years.

The nonprofit Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) found 270 allegations of environmental and human rights abuses in transition mineral projects across 13 countries in Europe and central Asia last year, up from 92 the year before.