The metallic element cobalt is one of the transition elements, closely related to iron and nickel. These three metals are sometimes referred to as the iron family.
The quest for Congo’s cobalt, which is vital for electric vehicles and the worldwide push against climate change, is caught in an international cycle of exploitation, greed and gamesmanship.
Explains the characteristics of cobalt, where it is found, how it is used by humans, and its relationship to other elements found in the periodic table.
In Congo’s sun-scorched and dusty south, thousands of miners scour underground tunnels hunting for cobalt. Many of them work by hand. That’s why they are known as creuseurs — French for diggers.
Cobalt mining comes at a great cost to public health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. New research reveals that children are particularly vulnerable: their urine and blood samples contain high concentrations of cobalt and other metals.
Every other year or so, news of terrible mining conditions seems to send Apple scrambling. In 2016, The Washington Post published a story about mines in the Congo, which are a main source of cobalt for Apple. The story revealed that these mines employed children. Workers there were made to dig by hand for very low wages, barely enough to live on.
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