For years, big tech companies like Apple and Tesla have assured customers of their glossy stores and showrooms that all of their goods are ethically sourced and sold.
But a new series of images taken at mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 90 percent of the world’s cobalt is extracted and used to make the batteries that power our engineered lives, raises uncomfortable questions.
Cobalt is the chemical element found in almost every tech device on the market today that uses a lithium-powered battery – a smartphone, tablet or laptop needs a few grams of it, while an electric vehicle needs 10kg.
Apple, Microsoft, Google, Tesla and others all insist that they hold cobalt suppliers to the highest standards and only deal with smelters and refiners that adhere to their codes of conduct.
But the photos and videos is able to share today of some of Africa’s largest mines – where many of these suppliers extract their cobalt – tell a different story.
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A sea of workers Shabara, one of the largest cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where hundreds of thousands of people are exposed to toxic chemicals every day as they mine the precious mineral
Chaos in Shabara, where workers toil for $2 a day. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the richest reserves of cobalt in the world, but workers are forced to endure inhumane working conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals
A woman carries her child while prospecting for cobalt in the hills several kilometers northwest of the town of Kambove
In the “artisanal” mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children are not spared the physical strain. Above, a child carries a sack of stones at Kapata, southwest of Kolwezi
Barefoot kids covered in chemicals endlessly smashing rocks for $2 a day; exhausted new mothers with their babies strapped in, scouring webs of rock in hopes of finding the precious cobalt.
These are some of the powerful images Siddharth Kara has received in the Katanga region over the past few years, ready to be shared ahead of the release of his new book, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives.
“That’s blood diamonds times a thousand – diamonds aren’t poisonous. And you buy a diamond once, maybe twice in your lifetime, while western society cannot function for more than 24 hours without cobalt-based devices
Siddharth Kara, author of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
The book paints a damning picture of the desperate demand for cobalt in the West and the deadly impact on African families.
Speaking to ahead of the release, Kara, an associate professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, said his research proves big tech’s confident assurances cannot be trusted.
“There are hundreds of thousands of the poorest people on the planet [mining for cobalt].
“The moral clock has been turned back to colonial times.
“They do it for $2 a day and for them it makes a difference if they eat that day or not, so they don’t have the option to say no.”
The sudden demand for green vehicles, ironically driven by eco-conscious people, is having a catastrophic impact in Congo, according to Kara.
“It’s supposed to be a green choice to get an electric car. Well, it’s not for everyone.’
Coupled with the immediate problems of overcrowded, underregulated mines is the added hazard of cobalt toxicity.
Backbreaking work for the young men and boys carrying sacks of cobalt for sale
A young girl searches rocks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo hoping to find cobalt for sale. Western companies largely rely on not trading directly with the mines. Instead, they buy the cobalt from refiners or smelters and say they hold those middlemen to their codes of conduct and standards
“The moral clock has been turned back to colonial times,” says Kara, who has studied child labor for years. He dismisses American tech companies’ excuses that China runs many of the mines, saying instead they should lead efforts to end child labor in the DRC
A child digs for cobalt at a mine in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, left and right another boy cleaning and sorting rocks. Kara said the children are exposed to cobalt poisoning every day but have to choose between that exposure or not eating
The riskier work of going down burrows in search of more cobalt is mostly reserved for adults. That’s right, guys sort and pack cobalt to sell
Prolonged exposure to cobalt can lead to lung disease, deafness and, according to Kara, who spent years researching in Congo, birth defects and various types of cancer.
“That’s blood diamonds times a thousand – diamonds aren’t poisonous.
“And you buy a diamond once, maybe twice in your lifetime, while western society cannot function for more than 24 hours without cobalt-based devices,” he said.
Among his videos is one of two children covered in toxic chemicals from the mine, smashing their rocks.
They must not be older than seven or eight years.
Big tech companies like Microsoft, Tesla, Apple and Samsung have made various promises and pledges to move away from the use of cobalt in products.
They have also relied on the fact that many of the mines are Chinese owned and operated, and claim that what goes on at those operations is beyond their control.
Artisanal mines in Congo produce cobalt that is purchased by refiners and manufacturers through a complicated and difficult-to-trace supply chain
From the earth to our handheld devices, cobalt, found in rocks, is the key mineral that keeps batteries from overheating and extends their lifespan
In 2020, Tesla signed a multi-year deal to buy 6,000 tonnes of cobalt from British mining giant Glencore, which operates a copper and cobalt mine in the Katanga region.
Glencore was the subject of a lawsuit in 2019 brought by a human rights defense group on behalf of the families of 19 Congolese children who died in a mine operated by the company.
Of the 23 approved cobalt suppliers Apple does business with, 20 are Chinese smelters. Western companies insist on binding their suppliers to their own codes of conduct and standards, but those standards seem to be slipping down the supply chain
The lawsuit also named the tech companies as defendants, but a judge dismissed them, claiming it was too difficult to prove a connection between the dead children and the companies.
Kara urges American companies, valued in the trillions, to do more.
“It’s not up to China. This is on Big Tech.
“They are aware of the problems, but they look the other way and blame China. China dominates, but saying it can’t be fixed is nonsensical.
“They initiate the demand for cobalt. It starts with them – it’s their responsibility.
“The supply chain only exists because of demand. They all say they source it ethically, they will all say supply chains are ethical, but then you go to Congo and you see that’s not true.”
Elon Musk’s Tesla, which dissolved its public relations department in 2020, has submitted various reports to the SEC claiming that it is moving away from the use of cobalt.
In 2020, Musk announces the postponement on Battery Day. But he didn’t give a timeline for when Tesla would stop using the mineral entirely.
Of the 23 smelters on Apple’s list of approved cobalt suppliers, 20 are Chinese. As of 2021, 13% of the cobalt shipped in Apple products has come from recycled sources as the company seeks to end its reliance on mining.
Nor are the human rights concerns associated with cobalt mining the only reason for companies to move away from it. With such a limited supply of cobalt, it is one of the most expensive elements of an electric vehicle, sometimes accounting for a third of the retail price.
Musk’s plan wasn’t just to move away from buying cobalt for batteries — he now wants to manufacture all of Tesla’s batteries himself.
Additional cobalt resources are being explored worldwide.
Congo’s cobalt reserves exceed those of the rest of the world. As of 2019, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had 3.6 million tonnes of cobalt in its soil, three times that of Australia.
Cuba, the Philippines, Russia, Canada, China and Madagascar also have small amounts – as does North America.