As demand grows for the material used in batteries, this MBA-style case study explores ethical dilemmas over unregulated mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo
email rounding up the latestDemand for electric vehicles has increased sharply in response to concern about climate change. Yet battery-powered cars and trucks depend on cobalt, a mineral found primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo , where child labour and unsafe mining conditions are common. The typical battery for an electric vehicle contains about 8kg of cobalt and global demand is projected to triple by 2035.
At least 70 per cent of cobalt comes from the DRC, of which between one-sixth and one-third is produced by informal or artisanal small-scale mining . Operating on the periphery of large industrial mining sites, ASM miners use makeshift methods to dig deep tunnels from which they collect cobalt ore and employ an estimated 25,000 children.
Every day, tens of thousands of people in the DRC try to scrape out small amounts of mineral ore on the periphery of the large-scale mining operations. They sell the cobalt to local traders, most of whom are Chinese. The traders then send the ore to refineries in the DRC and later in China, where almost 80 per cent is processed. These intersections during extraction and refining make it virtually impossible to separate ASM cobalt from industrially mined material.
Formalisation will also empower women workers, helping overcome traditional superstitions that they bring bad luck to mine sites and increasing household income, which enables families to send their children to school rather than to work in the mines. This model was successfully tested by the Swiss trading firm Trafigura at the Mutoshi mine from 2018 until early 2020, when operations were suspended because of Covid-19.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How I Am Teaching My Small Daughters To Play Patriarchy Chicken'I spent months noticing when men walked toward us without even slowing their pace because they expected us to clear the path.'
Read more »
Three out of four schools in Scotland face strike closureThe Unison, Unite and GMB unions say thousands of non-teaching staff will walk out from 26 to 28 September.
Read more »
Harry Kane is loved by fans and referees after golf with Muller and flawless Bayern startSadio Mane was famously accused of fitting in at Bayern like tofu in a white sausage, but Harry Kane had barely set foot in Munich before he was digging into a weisswurst. The debates have been ver…
Read more »
Three out of four schools in Scotland face strike closureThe Unison, Unite and GMB unions say thousands of non-teaching staff will walk out from 26 to 28 September.
Read more »