Cobalt Mining: Clean energy and Soiled Ethics

          Our world heavily depends on tools like smartphones, computers, electric vehicles, and various forms or rechargeable and renewable energy. Most of us are motivated to move towards clean energy and modern tech because it boasts a cleaner and safer world. And for many instances that is true. Moving away from gasoline powered vehicles leave us with cleaner air and water. Using solar energy eases the heavy burden on the grid. But far away from our first world problems, many people suffer unforgivable and hazardous working conditions, condemning them all to an early grave.

Where Does Cobalt Come From?

          The Democratic Republic of Congo is the primary source at which Cobalt, a critical mineral, can be found. The DRC has the largest supply of cobalt in the entire planet. Cobalt is a key component in the manufacturing tech devices. And yet despite the major push for cobalt mining to “save the planet”, one author sheds light on a dark matter. In his book, “Cobalt Red”, Siddharth Kara shares the realities of today’s cobalt mining process.

What's Wrong with The Extraction Process?

          Publicly, cobalt is being extracted by “artisanal” miners: people who freely choose to work in extremely dangerous conditions for just dollars a day for a wage. But in reality, artisanal means, people working with their hands as opposed to heavy equipment. Using pickaxes, shovels, and rebar, they use these tools to dig pits into the earth to gather cobalt for global consumption.

          Millions of trees have been cut down, the air is polluted, and the water is filled with toxic effluents from the mining process. Furthermore, cobalt is toxic to touch and breathe. And yet there are thousands of Congolese people touching it and breathing it without proper protection. To add to the atrocity, young children as well as nursing mothers make up a significant portion of the work force.

          Kara writes about the process, “A shadow economy exists underneath the formal economy. Everything that artisanal miners dig out of the ground is sold through intermediaries who then sell it to formal mining companies. There’s this laundering mechanism of traders and buying houses and depots that pay a few dollars a sack to the artisanal miners and then turn right back around and sell those sacks straight to industrial mining companies or processing facilities. Then it’s in the formal supply chain, and there’s no disaggregating it from what was dug through industrial means because it’s all dumped together to be processed.”

          “One of the great fictions promulgated outside of the Congo is there are these immutable lines between industrial and artisanal production, and when you get on the ground you realize that it’s an utter fiction, that there’s no line, there’s no wall. It just flows almost seamlessly into the formal supply chain.”

Toxic Health Crisis

          Kara goes on to report that Cobalt is extremely toxic to handle. Because of Cobalt exposure, birth defects, cancer, thyroid disease, neurological ailments, respiratory ailments, and other health issues are on the rise. Even worse, cobalt is often commingled with radioactive uranium. He places blame partly on the Congolese government, he places the majority of the blame of foreign powers and stakeholders who knowingly perpetuate the business by looking the other way. Kara is hopeful by making awareness of this highly unethical business practice, the world will begin to work towards a more just system of cobalt extraction.

Public Recognition

          Has Kara gotten anyone’s attention? Yes, he has. Siddharth Kara was featured on the world’s most popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience” where he talked for nearly two hours about the subject. The episode went viral and clips of the interview flooded social media platforms like YouTube and Tik Tok. Other high-profile figures like Ben Affleck, renowned actor, have founded the 501c (3) organization “Eastern Congo Initiative” back in 2010 to create public and private local partnerships with the intent to create positive public policy for the Congolese people. Grants made available to the Congolese people have enabled projects like “Heal Africa”, “Un Jour Nouvea”, and “ALPHAGEDE”. These programs have strengthened Ebola and Covid prevention, provided ethical manufacturing jobs, and increased literacy in the local population. Though his organization doesn’t deal directly with the mining issue, his work offers more options for job opportunities as well as a chance for the people to have hope beyond working in the pits.

          Has Kara gotten anyone’s attention? Yes, he has. Siddharth Kara was featured on the world’s most popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience” where he talked for nearly two hours about the subject. The episode went viral and clips of the interview flooded social media platforms like YouTube and Tik Tok. Other high-profile figures like Ben Affleck, renowned actor, have founded the 501c (3) organization “Eastern Congo Initiative” back in 2010 to create public and private local partnerships with the intent to create positive public policy for the Congolese people. Grants made available to the Congolese people have enabled projects like “Heal Africa”, “Un Jour Nouvea”, and “ALPHAGEDE”. These programs have strengthened Ebola and Covid prevention, provided ethical manufacturing jobs, and increased literacy in the local population. Though his organization doesn’t deal directly with the mining issue, his work offers more options for job opportunities as well as a chance for the people to have hope beyond working in the pits.