"Despite reforms, mining for EV metals in Congo exacts steep cost on workers"

Alain Kasongo, burly and goateed, worked for four years driving the heavy trucks that hauled away tons of cobalt ore from a gaping hole at one of the biggest mines in Congo. The vibrations from the equipment and the jolts of driving over rough ground during his 12-hour shifts could be bone-rattling, he said. Finally, the pain in his spine grew so unbearable that he needed surgery...The pressure to produce cobalt is tremendous. It is an essential ingredient in the batteries of most electric vehicles and many consumer electronics. And the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Congo for short, is the king of cobalt. Last year, it accounted for about three-quarters of global production, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This cobalt can come at a high human price..

Without a full accounting, there is a risk that the green-energy transition could repeat the painful history of earlier industrial revolutions...The very biggest mines, operated by companies such as Swiss-owned Glencore and China Molybdenum (CMOC), say they do not buy any ore from hand-dug mines, which are known as artisanal mines. Former employees, artisanal mine bosses and residents who live near the mines said in interviews they believe that’s true, noting that it would be hard to conceal truck convoys transferring ore from hand-dug mines.

But unsafe, artisanal mining persists, as does child labor. In locations visited by Washington Post journalists, workers in flip-flops and torn T-shirts, including some who appeared to be teenagers, crowded into huge open pits or descended into the tunnels that honeycomb the ground. Their ore is usually bought by middlemen and smaller industrial mines, refined locally and then shipped to China, where it disappears in the opaque global supply chain...

Asked about the general treatment and hours of subcontractors’ employees at Tenke Fungurume, Liang said, “The subcontractors have and implement their own policies and we ensure, through due diligence and onsite monitoring, that they comply with the law and do not contradict CMOC policies.”