Cobalt mined by children may be in phones

[miningmx.com] – COBALT used in batteries for phones, laptops and electric vehicles might be from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo that use child labour, said Reuters citing a report by Amnesty International.

The report identified a smelter in southern Congo which is owned by a subsidiary of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, a large Chinese minerals company. Amnesty International said the Chinese firm did not check where it sourced its cobalt.

“It is a major paradox of the digital era that some of the world’s richest, most innovative companies are able to market incredibly sophisticated devices without being required to show where they source raw materials for their components,” said Emmanuel Umpula, an executive director for AfriWatch, a company that worked in joint venture with Amnesty International on the report.

Bloomberg News said that Amnesty International had approached Apple Inc with the report’s claims.
Although the mobile phone and laptop manufacturer didn’t directly answer Amnesty’s questions it said it was evaluating “dozens of different materials, including cobalt, in order to identify labor and environmental risks as well as opportunities for Apple to bring about effective, scalable and sustainable change”.

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