Adding more minerals

Lithium, Nickel, and Cobalt, though those minerals that will see the most significant growth in demand with the shift to a greener economy (that emphasises technologies such as electric vehicles), are not the only minerals that will be required. For such a a green economy, more Copper, Graphite, Rare Earth Elements (REEs), Chromium, Zinc, Platinum Group Metals, and Aluminium will be required. Accounting for such minerals, and the impacts of their mining processes, will be critical to ensuring that CAGE is accounting for the green economy to its fullest extent.

Adding more commodities, with a focus on micro-mobility

As part of its aim to understand those links brought about through attempts to bring about a green economy, CAGE needs to expand the number of commodities it is considering. An exhaustive list is aspirational, but ultimately could be unrealistic. However, focusing on industry leaders and trending products enables scrutiny to be given, and understandings to be developed, that can then be used to initiate conversations elsewhere.

Including indigenous voices

At present, CAGE relies on writings from investigative journalism outlets to provide insight into the impact that mining for green economies is having on specific locations. However, this approach prevents the voices of those that are directly affected by such mining activities from being heard by readers of CAGE. To bring these voices to the fore, conducting interviews and uploading recordings of these interviews onto CAGE will be important for the future of this project.

Improving knowledge about what is happening in and around specific mining sites

Given the reliance of CAGE on published works of investigative journalism, it is ultimately both behind the reality of those sites discussed within it, and limited to those where journalists are present. Hence, a necessary next step for CAGE is to begin building links to researchers, community leaders, and NGOs so that other sites can be accounted for and CAGE’s understanding of the history and contemporary reality of such sites can be kept up to date.