Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining · Nigeria · 2025–2026

Lead shipped by Trafigura from Nigerian smelters linked to Ogijo poisonings

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Lead from Nigerian battery smelters was carried by Trafigura to East Penn, a US battery maker, according to The Examination, and blood tests in Ogijo found lead poisoning. The stake for nature and people is lead in soil and in residents' blood; no compensation is recorded in the sources reviewed.

What?
Lead from Nigerian battery smelting, carried by Trafigura, reached a US battery maker, and blood tests in Ogijo found lead poisoning. The Examination
Where?
Ogijo, Ogun State, Nigeria; East Penn in the United States The Examination
When?
Reports cover 2025 to 2026 The Examination
Who?
Gained
  • East Penn — Received lead carried by Trafigura for battery production The Examination
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Ogijo residents and workers — Lead poisoning found in blood tests; about 70 percent of volunteers tested The Examination
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Imported batteries were smelted in Nigeria; the lead was traded through Trafigura to a US battery maker The Examination
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Examination reported that imported batteries were smelted in Ogijo, Nigeria, and that lead from True Metals and six other Nigerian smelters was carried over four years by the trader Trafigura to East Penn, a US battery maker.

Blood tests found lead poisoning in about 70 percent of the volunteers tested (The Examination).

East Penn, which supplies Tesla, GM and Ford, saw its plants closed and then reopened, according to the same report.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: after the 2006 Probo Koala dumping in Abidjan, more than 100,000 people sought treatment; Trafigura paid fines in the Netherlands and gained immunity from prosecution in Côte d'Ivoire through a settlement.
    • None on record Not linked to a URL: all workers tested were found to have lead poisoning.
    • None on record Not stated: the number of workers tested, and the volume of lead Trafigura carried.
    • None on record Not linked to a URL: the Ogijo plants were fined about $7,000 each, and four companies were ordered to pay clean-up costs of about $150,000 in total; collection is not recorded.
    • None on record No compensation for residents is recorded in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    • Ogijo battery recycling lead poisoning (Nigeria) Nigeria · 2021–2026
      • Trafigura (Company) — here: Trader that carried lead from Nigerian smelters to East Penn; there: Trader that carried the smelters' lead to the US
      • East Penn (Company) — here: US battery maker that received the lead; there: US battery maker; buyer of the lead
      • True Metals (Company) — here: Nigerian smelter whose lead was shipped; there: Nigerian smelter among those supplying the lead
    • Delta Blue Carbon mangrove project (Pakistan) Pakistan · 2015–2025
      • Trafigura (Company) — here: Trader that carried lead from Nigerian smelters to East Penn; there: Credit buyer; "anchor off-taker"
    Similar cases
    Mining · Democratic Republic of the Congo · 2016–2023
    Kolwezi forced evictions (Cité Gécamines, DRC)
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Zimbabwe · 2008–2025
    Marange diamonds and the Kimberley Process (Zimbabwe)
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Protected area / relocation · Tanzania · 2009–2025
    Mkuju River uranium mine and the Selous boundary change
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Democratic Republic of the Congo · 2025
    DRC replaces cobalt export ban with 96,600-tonne annual quota
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Ghana · 2022–2024
    Illegal gold mining raised turbidity at a Ghana Water plant, cutting output 30%
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Zambia · date not stated
    Kabwe lead-poisoning claim against Anglo American is under appeal in South Africa
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured