In July 2025, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre published Accelerated demand: Human rights in Eastern Europe and Central Asia’s transition mineral boom – 2025 analysis that reveals an alarming rise in human rights and environmental abuses associated with the exploration, extraction, and processing of these minerals.

The report includes 270 publicly reported allegations of environmental and human rights abuses that took place in 2024 and are linked to mining project development, extraction and processing (smelting and refining) of 19 transition minerals in 13 EECA countries.

In line with the Resource Centre’s strategy and libel policy, we made every effort to reach out to companies accused of abuse and invited them to respond to the allegations through our Company Response Mechanism, except in cases where the company had already issued a public statement, the abuse was the subject of legal or regulatory action, or the company had no website or contact information available.

We invited 13 companies to respond. Only Zijin, Mineco and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih responded. Separately, JSC Aktyubinsk Chromium Compounds Plant reached out to comment on the allegations concerning its operations mentioned in the report. We were unable to invite the company earlier due to the lack of publicly available contact information. All responses and non-responses can be found below.