Cobalt Red is the culmination of the investigative work done by the author over a period of years - the contents of which make it a very moving read. It gives a detailed account of how the Cobalt supply chain relies heavily on artisanal mining and child labour in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Cobalt element allows batteries to hold more charge. Cobalt is used in primarily three types of rechargeable batteries - Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) , Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (L-NMC) and Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminium Oxide (L-NCA) (used by Tesla). Cobalt can make up-to 60% of the battery composition. It is found alongside Copper in the ground and at times Uranium has also been found in the deposits. Due to geographical quirks, widespread Cobalt deposits have been found alongside the East African Rift.
Mining giant Glencore has a big presence in Africa and has been criticized for working conditions in its operational mines and how it has manipulated Cobalt supply in the global markets. In one instance, it shut down a mine in DRC claiming shortage of Sulphuric acid to process the ore but it resulted in low supply of Cobalt and the price shot up on the London Metal Exchange.
Even though big technology and car companies have multiple press-releases swearing of any such elements in their supply chain. The reality found by the author in multiple visits to DRC was very different. The organizations, which have big tech and car companies as affiliates, that are supposed to enforce and vouch for keeping the supply chain clean seemingly have no presence on the ground specially in DRC which has 70% of world's supply. The author saw first-hand the brutal working conditions in DRC which resembled more of 18-19th century.
Specially, since artisanal miners aren't employed by any company - no one takes ownership of this problem. And because the sources of information for the government and the miners are different for obvious reasons - this aspect of mining never comes up to the surface.
It was particularly depressing to read about DRC's tragic past - from Belgium's King Leopold who ruthlessly ruled and extracted profits from them until the 1960s to how political leaders have assassinated and governed the country in a dictatorial fashion. This particular tidbit mentioned in the book caught my attention: when DRC gained independence in the 1960 - King Leopold's grandson Boudain was present at the ceremony and said this was the culmination of the genius of King Leopold. To which the democratically elected DRC PM, seething with anger responded "nous ne sommes plus vos singes".
Also, there are elements of economic imperialism making matters worse i.e Chinese companies running mines in the interiors of DRC with no regard for safe working conditions, fleecing the country by underpaying taxes and treating the native Congolese as second-class citizens. Since DRC doesn't have sufficient infrastructure to process these ores, they are shipped to China for processing and battery manufacturing.
The Cobalt supply chain is the dark underbelly of push to renewables and electrification of everything. Something that's not talked much about in the western world.
The author ends the book by posing a very obvious question -
If kids from Cupertino aren't supposed to dig for a living, then why should the kids from Congo?
