We often hear mention of, or read about, the Congo Cobalt mines when talking about the batteries required to store the electricity generated from 'green energy'.

I've been curious about how accurate the details have been about these mines, how unsafe are they really and do children actually work in these mines...so, when this video popped up as recommended I took the time to watch it.

According to this report, %70 of the world's Cobalt comes from mines in the Congo. Poor safety and deaths, violence, and corruption frequently plague these mostly Chinese owned mines.

For those that want to see what conditions are like in and around these Cobalt mines, I'd recommend this Australian investigative report.

@ 33 minute report


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_V3bIzNX4co

The battery companies are trying to work Cobalt out of their formulations. Social / worker justice issues my be an excuse, but the real reason is that it's expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
The battery companies are trying to work Cobalt out of their formulations. Social / worker justice issues my be an excuse, but the real reason is that it's expensive.

Expensive in the material sense, but also in the risk of having a country with a piss-poor stability record be your primary supplier of ANYTHING. Unless you're looking for a supply of extreme corruption, low-intensity civil war, and innovative new diseases. Then, DROC is positively your go-to.

Artisanal miners and they pick out 30% of the cobalt the DRC supplies to the world from the strip mine leftovers? Those are two red flags right there within the first minutes and 18 seconds.

I know nothing about mining, but I cannot believe 30% of the cobalt coming from the DRC comes from trespassers with shovels and burlap sacks picking over the waste material from the industrial process. I cannot believe the mine operators/process spends resources to pull the cobalt out the ground and just leaves 30% of it laying around for people to walk up and stuff in a bag.

China is embedded in virtually every 3rd world country, stripping them of their minerals, for the low cost of building a road or a school.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
China is embedded in virtually every 3rd world country, stripping them of their minerals, for the low cost of building a road or a school.

If you want to see how involved China is involved in these country's look up the Belt and Road Initiative.
China is loaning country's money they know they cant pay back, then taking over what ever the money was used for or it's natural resources as pay back.
China is going to take over the world without ever firing a shot.

Anyone ever wonder what happened to Blackwater? Erik Prince, started protecting mines in Africa via PMC very shortly after the nonsense with state dept. contracts and Obama/Clinton.

The war over resources there has been going on forever. With China, it’s much more intense and fatal.

I think this about sums it up.