The War Below: AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 'TODAY': Lithium, copper, and the global battle to power our lives

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER BOOK OF 2024AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION, AND THE FT BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDThe trillion-dollar battle for the resources to power our future.Oil and gas defined the twentieth century. Now lithium, copper, cobalt, rare earths and nickel will define the twenty-first.The world is moving towards replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. But building electric vehicles, solar panels, and millions of other devices requires digging more mines. Critical minerals are vital to many sustainable technologies, and the competition for them is intensifying.Nations which aspire to energy independence are ever more intertwined: a hedge fund manager's attempt to revive rare earths mining in California needs Chinese expertise, and international reliance on Africa's mining sector persists despite concern over child labour. Meanwhile, ecological dilemmas abound: a proposed lithium mine in Nevada