Your Smartphone Is Powered by Child Labor at Cobalt Mines in Africa. Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has accused several tech and auto industry giants of turning a blind eye to child labor. In a damning report released on Tuesday, the organization found that major brands, including Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Volkswagen, were allowing cobalt mined by children into their products. Cobalt — a metallic element that is found mostly in minerals — is a key component in the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electronic devices such as laptops, smartphones, and electric cars.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in central Africa, is the world's top cobalt producer, accounting for more than half of the planet's supply. According to the DRC's government, 20 percent of the cobalt exported by country is extracted from mines in the southern province of Katanga.
Much of the cobalt mined in the region is sold to Congo Dongfang Mining International (CDM), a company owned by Chinese mineral company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company Ltd (Huayou Cobalt), which the Amnesty report describes as one of the world's leading manufacturers of cobalt products.
According to Amnesty, the components produced by Huayou Cobalt are then sold on to battery manufacturers in China and South Korea, who, in turn, supply some of the world's top electronics companies.
A 2014 report by children's rights agency UNICEF found that approximately 40,000 children worked in mines in southern DRC, and that many of them were involved in the mining of cobalt.
'There is lots of dust, it is very easy to catch colds, and we hurt all over.'
Amnesty said its report was researched jointly with DRC-based NGO African Resources Watch (Afrewatch). The report is based on interviews of miners working at four sites in the DRC. As part of their investigation, researchers spoke to 17 children, ages 9 to 17. One child said he started working at the mine when he was 7.
Most of the children interviewed by Amnesty worked above ground, collecting ore and sorting through rocks, which they then washed in streams and lakes around the mines.
The children described working gruelling, 12-hour shifts in the extreme heat or in the rain, often for no more than 1,000 to 2,000 Congolese Francs ($1-$2) per day. Some of them explained that their school day was bookended with shifts at the mine, and that they also worked weekends and during the holidays.
Paul, 14, told researchers he also worked underground in the mines, often spending up to 24 hours at a time in unsafe tunnels. "I arrived in the morning and would leave the following morning," he said.
Researchers found that the vast majority of workers in the DRC's mines handle cobalt without wearing any protective gear, such as gloves or facemasks, despite the known dangers of chronic exposure to cobalt dust.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in central Africa, is the world's top cobalt producer, accounting for more than half of the planet's supply. According to the DRC's government, 20 percent of the cobalt exported by country is extracted from mines in the southern province of Katanga.
Much of the cobalt mined in the region is sold to Congo Dongfang Mining International (CDM), a company owned by Chinese mineral company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company Ltd (Huayou Cobalt), which the Amnesty report describes as one of the world's leading manufacturers of cobalt products.
According to Amnesty, the components produced by Huayou Cobalt are then sold on to battery manufacturers in China and South Korea, who, in turn, supply some of the world's top electronics companies.
A 2014 report by children's rights agency UNICEF found that approximately 40,000 children worked in mines in southern DRC, and that many of them were involved in the mining of cobalt.
'There is lots of dust, it is very easy to catch colds, and we hurt all over.'
Amnesty said its report was researched jointly with DRC-based NGO African Resources Watch (Afrewatch). The report is based on interviews of miners working at four sites in the DRC. As part of their investigation, researchers spoke to 17 children, ages 9 to 17. One child said he started working at the mine when he was 7.
Most of the children interviewed by Amnesty worked above ground, collecting ore and sorting through rocks, which they then washed in streams and lakes around the mines.
The children described working gruelling, 12-hour shifts in the extreme heat or in the rain, often for no more than 1,000 to 2,000 Congolese Francs ($1-$2) per day. Some of them explained that their school day was bookended with shifts at the mine, and that they also worked weekends and during the holidays.
Paul, 14, told researchers he also worked underground in the mines, often spending up to 24 hours at a time in unsafe tunnels. "I arrived in the morning and would leave the following morning," he said.
Researchers found that the vast majority of workers in the DRC's mines handle cobalt without wearing any protective gear, such as gloves or facemasks, despite the known dangers of chronic exposure to cobalt dust.
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