Mining in Africa and the Dark Underbelly of Powering our Future
Image courtesy of Frida Aguilar Estrada via Unsplash
As demand increases for the batteries required to power devices like smartphones, electric vehicles, and computers, mining ventures for the resources to create them expand at a similar rate. Cobalt, copper, lithium and various other minerals are needed to create batteries, and Africa is rich with these resources. Thus, vast mining operations have emerged across African nations, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The new economic opportunities, however, have generated a myriad of challenges, such as the ecological damage as well as exploitative, dangerous, and often inhumane working conditions.
Many nations in the Sub-Saharan region like the DRC, Zambia, and Zimbabwe hold large reserves of minerals required to make these batteries, and the DRC alone possesses almost half the world’s reserves. There is an expected exponential surge in demand for these materials, especially as the electric vehicle market continues to expand while gas-powered vehicles are to be phased out. Many nations have banned production within the decade.To keep up with the demand, production from mines in the region has heavily increased. Roughly 70%of the world’s cobalt supply in 2020 came from Congo, with most of it coming from large-scale industrial mines. Previously, natural resources required for EV production could also be found in Russia, but with the war in Ukraine nearing its one year anniversary and the multitude of sanctions that have been levied against Russia, African mines are seen as more reliable suppliers.
Many of these mines are reported to harbor horrific working conditions. Wages are almost non-existent,with some workers in the DRC barely making $3.50 a day, While most of the mineral output comes from industrial mines, there are also small and informal artisanal mines. These particular mines have been reported to have child laborers, as well as miners being buried alive from cave-ins. Resultantly, companies have pledged to shift to “clean” cobalt and source the mineral from mines with no human rights violations. Still,, industrial mines share similar issues. Many workers are employed at Chinese-owned firms and through subcontractors. In these mines, there have been reports of poor water and food rations and numerous employees have made allegations of discrimination in the workplace.
Numerous firms have recently struck deals with “safer” industrial mining companies to extract cobalt in Congo. One such firm is Tesla, which has recently reached a deal to use over a quarter of its cobalt for batteries, which is seen as a strategy to distract from allegations of human rights abuses in their supply chain. Many car makers have also stated they will discuss the recent findings of abuse within mines and take up the issue with their suppliers, yet it remains unclear whether or not this is simply a PR stunt. Labor advocates recommend firms ensure workers are paid a living wage and are protected from workplace abuse in order for firms to establish themselves as Environmental Social Governance (ESG) leaders. Additionally, they need to ensure that they are not purchasing resources from mines being funded by Chinese FDI.
In addition to the horrible workplace conditions, the environmental impacts of many large-scale mining operations in the region have been a massive issue. Operations have damaged habitats and local ecosystems, and waste generated from mining cobalt and other metals pollutes water, air, and the local soil. It has also led to decreased crop yields and contaminated food. Those working the mines have also suffered from respiratory health issues as inhaling cobalt particles has been linked to asthma, decreased pulmonary function, shortness of breath and more.
As the world is transitioning to a clean energy future and more batteries are needed to power everyday life, it remains to be seen whether or not companies and governments will address the horrible side-effects that accompany the future.
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