the salmonchallis national forest covers 43 million acres of rolling mountains covered in trees rivers and wildlife living in the largest wilderness area in the united states underneath the surface lies the idaho cobalt belt one of the countrys only large deposits of the critical mineral key to the lithiumion batteries that power our phones laptops and increasingly our vehicles cobalt mining abandoned this mountain range decades ago after one mine caused devastating effects on the local environment and an entire town a mountain range in idaho is now seen as a key location in the countrys move towards renewable energy sources australian company jervois received permits to mine for cobalt inside a mountain in idaho abc news australian company jervois is poised to restart mining in the salmonchallis national forest theyre looking for cobalt they mine to be used in rechargeable batteries in devices such as electric vehicles power storage containers and other clean energy technology more what you need to know about critical minerals and climate change matt lengerich the executive general manager for jervois mining ltd a company that is undertaking the project told abc news that the endeavor is important for the countys goal to reduce the use of fossil fuels were going to continue to see technologyadvances especially in batteries and in better battery chemistry that i have no doubt but even with all of those advances were still going to need sustainably supplied cobalt he told abc news lengerich boasted his companys new technology and mining processes contending that those 21stcentury advances along with new government regulations will minimize the impact on the surrounding area fauna and flora compared to previous mining operations local environmentalists say they want to make sure any new mining doesnt set back decades of restoration efforts cassi wood the project manager for trout unlimited speaks to abc news ginger zee about the efforts to restore idahos polluted rivers abc news there are some things that really we need to keep in our minds as we move forward with this big mineral rush that i think were experiencing in this country and other places in the world cassi wood the project manager for trout unlimited told abc news the mountain located in the area was the source of cobalt copper and was mining there began at the end of the 19th century it picked up in the 1940s when the government used cobalt from the mine to help build jet engines during the cold war more biden signs executive order aimed at securing critical us supply chains the open pit mining operation at the site called blackbird supported a town with a population of 250 named cobalt things changed in the early 90s when federal regulators confirmed pollution from the mine had contaminated nearby watersheds the fact that the federal government actually asked for the mine to happen and produce produce producecorners cut toproduce that cobalt erin clyde a senior specialist of environmental geochemistry at glencore copper which now owns