COBALT MINING
Welcome to the HTS Global Cobalt Mining Database. This page serves as a resource hub for articles, blogs, films and podcasts on the intersection of the cobalt mining sector and child labor, labor trafficking, the green energy movement and modern-day slavery.
February 26, 2023
Child labor, sexual assault, birth defects, abject poverty, workers buried alive: A new exposé on artisanal cobalt mining in the …
February 14, 2023
A worker assembles an electric car battery inside the battery pack shop at the electric automobile plant of VinFast in …
January 23, 2023
Children wash copper at a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2010. PHOTO BY GWENN DUBOURTHOUMIEU/AFP/GETTY IMAGES The U.S. …
January 23, 2023
Despite big companies’ pledges to crack down on exploitative practices, much cobalt mining remains unsafe and unregulated.Credit…Ashley Gilbertson for The …
January 23, 2023
An artisanal miner works at a cobalt mine-pit in Tulwizembe, Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo, November 25, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Kenny Katombe. …
January 23, 2023
Congolese civil rights attorney Hervé Diakiese Kyungu testifying on July 14, 2022, at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. on …
July 10, 2022
Global demand for cobalt, a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in consumer electronics and electric vehicles, is expected to …
July 25, 2022
The Global Battery Alliance’s Cobalt Action Partnership (GBA CAP) the CAP Project Management Office (PMO) and the CAP Steering Committee …
July 25, 2022
Giving an identity to the EV’s most important component Batteries do much more than just power electric vehicles (EVs) – …
July 25, 2022
Informal workers produce almost a third of the country’s cobalt. Can mining groups address the problem? Kongolo Mashimango Reagen used …
July 19, 2022
Workers at Tenke Fungurume, a copper mine in the southern Congolese province of Katanga, check bundles of copper cathode sheets, …
July 12, 2022
Introduction The rapid advancements in technology throughout the last decades have resulted in many people across the globe acquiring access …
July 12, 2022
Blog post by HTS Research Fellow Luke Fanous Saving the planet should not come at the expense of people’s human …
January 23, 2023
Cobalt is quickly becoming the defining example of the mineral conundrum at the heart of the renewable energy transition. As …
June 21, 2022
Miners fill bags with cobalt ore at the depot of the Kasulo mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt …
June 10, 2022
This whitepaper builds on our Meeting the EV challenge: Responsible sourcing of cobalt in the electric vehicle battery supply chain publication first …
June 10, 2022
Credit: Dominik Vanyi on Unsplash It is no secret that the world’s demand for minerals is growing and diversifying, and …
June 10, 2022
Somewhere between 65% and 70% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but recently-listed Koba Resources …
June 10, 2022
The Fair Cobalt Alliance is aiming to raise $20 million by 2025 to help develop a responsible and fair supply …
June 10, 2022
The electric vehicle (EV) revolution has resulted in an ever-increasing demand for cobalt. As a producer of more than 65% …
June 2, 2022
The Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was known to colonial adventurers as the Copper Belt. There’s …
May 25, 2022
Statement following the roundtable on the agreement between Dan Gertler’s Ventora Group and the DRC, regarding the restitution of oil …
June 21, 2022
An artisanal miner carries raw ore at Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside of Kolwezi, the capital city of …
May 17, 2022
Executive Summary Minerals extracted by hand from the African Great Lakes region are in huge demand. The Democratic Republic of …
April 13, 2022
In 2021, global sales of electric vehicles more than doubled. This year, automakers are projected to make another huge gain, …
February 16, 2022
Workers at a Tesla supplier say they can’t get enough food or water on the job Andre clocks into his …
March 21, 2022
Our world is increasingly powered by lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, ranging from the ones found in everyday mobile technologies, such as …
March 25, 2022
Congo, Batteries and Global North Consumption. The video of Central London GJN’s meeting on Monday the 14th of March on …
March 23, 2022
Artisanal miners at a cobalt pit in Democratic Republic of Congo, which holds 70% of the world’s supply. Workers are …
March 22, 2022
Angus Sargent is an Engagement Manager for the Social Transformation at the World Benchmarking Alliance. He specialises in human rights …
December 9, 2021
Download a PDF of the Infographic here.
January 13, 2022
The clean energy revolution is replacing oil and gas with a new global force: the minerals and metals needed in …
December 13, 2021
Benita Kayembe is a Graduate Student at Harvard University and a Cornell University Alumna in addition to being a Global …
December 9, 2021
Foreword Demand for cobalt is increasing significantly as more electric cars and other green energy solutions reach consumers. With this …
February 8, 2022
The Road to Ruin? Electric vehicles and workers’ rights abuses at DR Congo’s industrial cobalt mines
Executive Summary Cobalt is everywhere. It is a silvery-blue mineral used in the rechargeable batteries that power our mobile phones, …
December 8, 2021
Cell phones and electric cars rely on the mineral, causing a boom in demand. Locals are hunting for this buried treasure—but …
December 6, 2021
Through the critical lenses of “modern slavery,” “dispossession,” and “gendering,” this study examines the contours of power, patriarchy, and child …
December 15, 2021
KASULO, Democratic Republic of Congo — A man in a pinstripe suit with a red pocket square walked around the …
May 25, 2022
i. Participation aux travaux de la table ronde 1. Le 12 avril 2022, le Cabinet du Président de la République a …
November 29, 2021
The Rights Track podcast gets the hard facts about the human rights challenges facing the world today and aims to …
November 24, 2021
Photographs by Ashley Gilbertson The quest for Congo’s cobalt, which is vital for electric vehicles and the worldwide push against …
November 9, 2021
Illustration: Pep Boatella/The Guardian Congolese workers describe a system of abuse, precarious employment and paltry wages – all to power …
November 1, 2021
Image: Haze following forest fires in Riau, Indonesia. Photo by: Aulia Erlangga / CIFOR / CC BY-NC-ND In response to the urgent …
December 21, 2021
The envisioned green future where every North American is driving a battery-powered electric vehicle charged with renewable energy could be …
September 20, 2021
Thousands of artisanal miners dig by hand in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Children, too. They have no industrial …
December 13, 2021
The Resource Curse and its Paradox The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as “The Congo” and “Zaire,” …
December 17, 2021
From its use as a coloring pigment in ceramics in Ancient Egypt, to its discovery as a key ingredient in much of …
January 17, 2022
Last year, many took to social media using the hashtag #NoCongoNoPhone to fight against the cobalt supply chain that fosters …
December 17, 2021
A cobalt mine between Lubumbashi and Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photograph: Federico Scoppa/AFP/Getty Images Children as young …
December 17, 2021
The mineral is an essential component of batteries for smartphones and laptops, making billions for multinationals such as Apple and …
December 17, 2021
A boy carries a bag used to transport cobalt-laden dirt and rock at a mineral market outside Kolwezi, Congo, on …
December 17, 2021
Photos by Michael Robinson Chavez The sun was rising over one of the richest mineral deposits on Earth, in one of …
December 27, 2021
Un nouveau rapport révèle des conditions désastreuses, de la discrimination et des salaires extrêmement bas dans les mines industrielles de …
December 27, 2021
After studying the impacts of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Northwestern …
December 27, 2021
Social consequences of green energy must be assessed in addition to environmental impacts, researchers say While driving an electric car …
December 27, 2021
Summary Evaluating the human health and well-being effects of emerging technologies is essential. Yet, data to support rigorous evaluation of …
January 28, 2022
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has set the United States on an ambitious path toward dramatically cutting its carbon emissions …
March 18, 2022
In the high-stakes competition to dominate the business of clean energy, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a major arena: …