The global transition to electric vehicles is often presented as a cornerstone of a cleaner future. Yet behind this shift lies a complex story of resource extraction, where the human cost is rarely seen.

​

Commissioned by The Washington Post, this project explores South Africa's manganese mining industry in the Northern Cape, home to some of the world's largest manganese reserves. As demand for electric vehicle batteries accelerates, the country has become increasingly vital to the global energy transition.

​

Travelling thousands of kilometres through remote mining communities, I documented the lives of workers living with the long-term consequences of manganese exposure. Many suffer from neurological disorders associated with manganism, an occupational disease whose symptoms are frequently mistaken for Parkinson's disease.

​

These photographs examine the intersection of labour, health, industry and geopolitics, revealing the often-overlooked human realities that underpin the technologies driving the world's transition to renewable energy.