倫敦金屬交易所調(diào)查童工采礦投訴

One of the City of London’s oldest institutions has launched an investigation into whether cobalt mined by child labour is trading on its exchange, following complaints it is allowing a Chinese company to sell untraceable supplies of the metal widely used in mobile phones and electric vehicles.

倫敦金融城歷史最悠久的機(jī)構(gòu)之一針對(duì)其交易的的鈷是否由童工開采展開調(diào)查。此前有人投訴稱，該交易所允許一家中國(guó)公司銷售無(wú)法追蹤來(lái)源的鈷，這種金屬?gòu)V泛應(yīng)用于手機(jī)和電動(dòng)車。

Members of the 140-year-old London Metal Exchange initially raised concerns about questionable cobalt this summer, highlighting their fears the rechargeable battery material may have come from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo accused of employing children.

有140年歷史的倫敦金屬交易所(LME)的成員最初在今夏就來(lái)源可疑的鈷表示關(guān)切，強(qiáng)調(diào)他們擔(dān)心這種充電電池原料可能來(lái)自剛果民主共和國(guó)境內(nèi)被指使用童工的礦場(chǎng)。

Earlier this month, the LME quietly sent a directive to all suppliers asking them to detail how they guarantee “responsible sourcing” of commodities traded on the exchange. The notice, contained in email seen by the Financial Times, requests a response by December 1.

本月早些時(shí)候，LME悄悄向所有供應(yīng)商發(fā)出指示，要求他們?cè)敿?xì)說(shuō)明自己如何保證在該交易所交易的大宗商品來(lái)自“負(fù)責(zé)任的來(lái)源”。英國(guó)《金融時(shí)報(bào)》看到的這封郵件通知，要求供應(yīng)商在12月1日前做出回應(yīng)。

The LME is the world’s most important venue for industrial metals and helps set prices for copper, tin and other metals. If tainted cobalt is found in its network of warehouses it could trigger a backlash from users of the exchange.

LME是全球最重要的工業(yè)金屬交易所，幫助為銅、錫等金屬定價(jià)。如果其倉(cāng)庫(kù)被發(fā)現(xiàn)存在來(lái)源可疑的鈷，那可能會(huì)引發(fā)該交易所用戶的強(qiáng)烈反彈。

Groups such as Amnesty International say children as young as seven are mining cobalt by hand in the DRC, one of the world’s poorest countries. The allegations have put pressure on companies such as Tesla and Apple to ensure cobalt in their battery-run products is traceable to reputable mines.

大赦國(guó)際(Amnesty International)等組織表示，在世界最貧窮國(guó)家之一的剛果民主共和國(guó)，年僅7歲的兒童在用手工開采鈷礦。這些指控給特斯拉(Tesla)、蘋果(Apple)等公司施加了壓力，要求它們確保各自靠電池運(yùn)行的產(chǎn)品所用的鈷可追溯至聲譽(yù)較好的礦場(chǎng)。

More than half the world’s cobalt comes from the DRC, where up to one-fifth is extracted by so-called artisanal miners, who dig by hand in deep tunnels. Artisanal mines are more likely to employ child labour, according to Amnesty.

全球一半以上的鈷來(lái)自剛果民主共和國(guó)，而該國(guó)多達(dá)五分之一的鈷是由手工采礦者在地下深處的礦井巷道中手工挖掘開采出的。大赦國(guó)際表示，手工采礦的礦場(chǎng)更有可能雇用童工。

Cobalt prices have risen by more than 80 per cent this year as carmakers step up electric vehicle production. Material mined in the DRC is largely sent to China for processing.

隨著汽車制造商紛紛擴(kuò)大電動(dòng)車生產(chǎn)規(guī)模，今年以來(lái)鈷價(jià)上漲了逾80%。在剛果民主共和國(guó)開采的原料大部分被運(yùn)至中國(guó)進(jìn)行加工。

The LME notice, sent 12 days ago, said its inquiry was part of a broader push to address responsible sourcing and was “not related to any particular producer or brand”. Two traders said, however, the request came only after they had made complaints to the LME about the traceability of specific cobalt supplies.

LME在12天前發(fā)出的這份通知稱，這項(xiàng)調(diào)查是解決負(fù)責(zé)任來(lái)源的整體努力的一部分，“不針對(duì)任何特定生產(chǎn)商或品牌”。然而，兩家交易商表示，只是在他們就特定鈷供應(yīng)的可追溯性提出投訴后，LME才發(fā)出上述請(qǐng)求。

“[W]e would expect that any specific concerns will be addressed as part of our existing efforts and we look forward to engaging with the market further on this important topic,” the LME email said.

LME在電郵中稱：“我們期望，任何特定擔(dān)憂都將得到應(yīng)對(duì)，作為我們現(xiàn)有努力的一部分，我們期待在這個(gè)重要話題上進(jìn)一步與市場(chǎng)接觸。”

The two traders said concerns arose this summer when metal produced by Yantai Cash Industrial, a Shandong-based producer, appeared on the exchange. They said many market participants believe Yantai Cash sources some of its unrefined cobalt from artisanal DRC mines that carry a higher risk of using child labour.

這兩家交易商表示，總部位于山東的煙臺(tái)凱實(shí)工業(yè)有限公司(Yantai Cash Industrial)生產(chǎn)的鈷今夏出現(xiàn)在該交易所，引發(fā)各方關(guān)切。他們稱，許多市場(chǎng)參與者相信，煙臺(tái)凱實(shí)的一部分鈷原料來(lái)自剛果民主共和國(guó)手工開采的鈷礦，而這些礦場(chǎng)使用童工的可能性較高。

Concern they might receive Yantai Cash metal has recently caused cobalt on the LME to price at a discount to other sources, traders said. While LME metal must meet certain quality standards, buyers cannot choose the source of the material, which is delivered from the exchange’s own warehouses.

對(duì)于鈷可能來(lái)自煙臺(tái)凱實(shí)的擔(dān)憂，已導(dǎo)致LME的鈷價(jià)相對(duì)于其他來(lái)源存在折扣。雖然在LME交易的金屬必須達(dá)到一定的質(zhì)量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，但買家無(wú)法選擇材料來(lái)源，這些材料是從交易所自己的倉(cāng)庫(kù)交貨的。

Yantai Cash executives said they have begun an inquiry into the concerns.

煙臺(tái)凱實(shí)的高管稱，他們已開始對(duì)此類擔(dān)憂進(jìn)行調(diào)查。

“Some of our customers have asked us to do due diligence investigation on the supply chain to see if [the chain] has child labour or human rights problems,” said Yantai Cash’s deputy head of international trade. “We have started doing that.”

“我們的一些客戶已經(jīng)要求我們對(duì)供應(yīng)鏈進(jìn)行盡職調(diào)查，以核實(shí)(供應(yīng)鏈)是否存在童工或人權(quán)問(wèn)題，”煙臺(tái)凱實(shí)的國(guó)際貿(mào)易副主管表示，“我們已經(jīng)開始這樣做了。”

The LME has broad regulatory control over metal on the exchange, but has no specific rule governing sourcing. Some of the world’s biggest miners including Glencore and China Molybdenum also operate in the DRC using large-scale machinery.

LME對(duì)在該交易所交易的金屬擁有廣泛的監(jiān)管控制，但對(duì)來(lái)源沒(méi)有具體規(guī)定。包括嘉能可(Glencore)、洛陽(yáng)鉬業(yè)(China Molybdenum)在內(nèi)的全球最大一些礦商，也在剛果民主共和國(guó)采礦，它們使用大型機(jī)械。

“We have strict guidelines and criteria for brands wishing to list their products on the LME,” the exchange said. “Any evidence of sub-standard practices that fall short of our requirements would be investigated by the LME and action would be taken.”

“我們對(duì)希望在LME掛牌產(chǎn)品的品牌有嚴(yán)格的指導(dǎo)方針和標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，”該交易所表示，“達(dá)不到我們要求的、低于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的做法的任何證據(jù)，都將受到LME調(diào)查，并采取相應(yīng)行動(dòng)。”

Additional reporting by David Sheppard in London and Archie Zhang in Beijing

戴維•謝潑德(David Sheppard)倫敦、張祺(Archie Zhang)北京補(bǔ)充報(bào)道