Thread by @AfricanHub_

The Chinese Cruel Cobalt Conundrum in DRC.

Most of the DRC’s largest mines including Dezwia Mine, Kamfundwa Mine, Tenke Fungurume Mine (TFM), Sicomines Copper-Cobalt Mine, Kolwezi Mine, Kamoya Mine, and Ruashi Mine, are under Chinese ownership. #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

In several of the mines owned by Chinese enterprises, a survey of the miners. According to the findings, about 82% of miners reported having skin problems, 85.4% had breathing problems, 52.7% had significant injuries within the previous year, and 12.6% #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

said a family member/friend had passed away within the last two years as a result of a disease, an injury, or a mine collapse brought on by the Cobalt Mining operations. Heavy gear is used in the DRC’s cobalt mining process, #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

harming the environment and obliterating animal and plant habitats. In addition to producing pollution and health problems, the mining process also releases hazardous compounds and heavy metals into the land and water. Artisanal miners have manually dug #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

almost 20,000 tunnels in Congo. The miners enter the structure without any PPE equipment and use basic tools like hammers, gardening hoes, shafts, and even just their bare hands to dig the tunnels. #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

These tunnels frequently collapse, suffocating everyone within, including children, in full consciousness. Cobalt mining in the DRC is linked to the trade in conflict minerals, which are minerals that are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

armed groups and militias. There are still over 30,000 children below 14 years and over 70,000 children below 18 years of age who are directly or indirectly employed by the mining companies in Congo. #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

Behemoths in technology such as Apple, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and Samsung assert that they only use cobalt that has been ethically mined and supplied, yet the majority of them rely on the smelters’ statements, which are primarily Chinese. #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

Chinese mining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has caused several problems, including:

Environmental degradation Cobalt mining in the DRC involves the use of heavy machinery, which damages the environment and destroys habitats #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

for plants and animals. The mining process also releases toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the soil and water, causing pollution and health risks.
The Tunnels to Hell The official limit of tunnel length is 30 meters, #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

however, this is frequently exceeded. Tunnels can reach heights of up to 90 meters because of poor administration and a lack of incentives to follow rules, which puts people in danger of landslides, collapse, and death. #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

They were extremely hot from the inside and had a lack of Oxygen. We found that, in the DRC alone, artisanal miners have dug approximately 20,000 tunnels by hand. Without a PPE kit, safety helmet, safety (hard) shoes, or gloves, the miners get into the #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

structure. Instead of using modern, complex,
and advanced technologies to dig the tunnel, they used simple instruments like hammers, gardening hoes, shafts, and even sticks and bare hands. These tunnels frequently collapse, crushing everyone #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

within, including minors, alive. It’s a death that’s almost impossible to fathom being so horrible. These tales never transcend Congo as the world simply ignores their stories Land conflicts Cobalt mining in the DRC has often resulted in land #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

conflicts between local communities, mining companies, and government authorities. The government has granted mining concessions to Chinese companies without consulting local communities, #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

leading to the displacement of people and the destruction of their livelihoods. One such case study is unfolding these days in the city of Kolwezi. Victor Fwamba, seeing an open-cast cobalt mine in Kolwezi, in the southeast of the DRC, #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

remarked, “We’re doomed”. Kolwezi, which is home
to more than 5,00,000 people, is situated atop some of the greatest mineral reserves in the world, a gold, copper, and cobalt treasure trove that powers the economies of many #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

countries mining from them. A moat of industrial mines, a sand moonscape with gigantic open pits, access roads, and pylons already encircle
the city. Yet, mining operations are encroaching farther and deeper into the city proper, uprooting #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

thousands of residents who frequently complain about the unjust treatment. 937 miners even said someone close to them died in the past 2 years due to the disease/ injuries/mines collapse caused by the Cobalt Mining operations #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

Human Rights Abuses

There have been reports of human rights abuses in cobalt mines in the DRC, including child labor, forced labor, and unsafe working conditions. Many of the workers are poorly paid and work in dangerous conditions without #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

proper safety equipment or training. Children as young as six years old are working in cobalt mines in the DRC. These children work long hours in dangerous conditions, without proper safety equipment or training. Child labor is illegal in the DRC, #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

but it remains a widespread problem in the mining industry. Despite this being a much talked
about issue in the past 6 years, found out that there are still over 30,000 children below 14 years and over 70,000 children below 18 years of age who are #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

directly or indirectly employed by the mining companies in Congo. Africa should Unite and fight these kinds of exploitations coming from the Chinese. The politicians who are helping and allowing these kinds of deals at the expenses and to the #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

disadvantages of their own people should be held accountable for what is happening. Africa resources should be used to the advantage of Africa and not making big profits to foreigners who are exploiting even our own children so #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA

as to maximize on their profits. Enough is Enough Africans should stand for what is theirs. China is now the new colonizer in Africa. Africa for Africans #ENDILLEGALMININGAFRICA