America's only cobalt mine opened last year to great fanfare, since the mineral is crucial for green energy. But it surprisingly closed months later.

Cobalt is a metal that produces a blue pigment. It's essential for making many of the batteries powering phones, computers, and electric vehicles, but mining it is linked to human rights abuses.

The first cobalt mine in America in decades opens Friday in Idaho. The metal used in electric vehicle batteries is in big demand yet analysts say the environmental costs are also high.

Mining cobalt is highly toxic to breathe and touch. Land near the mines suffers, too. Waterways are often contaminated, and workers are forced to touch and inhale toxic dust on a daily basis.

The cobalt from the Idaho mine will be shipped to a refinery Jervois is refurbishing in São Paulo, Brazil, to be processed. The company projects an initial seven-year run.

Sedimentary deposits, which account for more than 50% of cobalt mining today, are sandstones and shales that formed beneath ancient oceans and lakes, ...

With that kind of government support and industry demand, investing in the country's only cobalt mine seemed like a dream business venture for Jervois. "It was a huge opportunity," says CEO Crocker.

America's only cobalt mine opened last year to great fanfare, since the mineral is crucial for green energy. But it surprisingly closed months later.