Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

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Mining technology leaped forward during the late Middle Ages when miners started using black powder from China to blow up large rocks. Most of the reserves are in the Congo, a land that has been robbed of its resources for hundreds of years. As scrutiny over the conditions under which cobalt is mined has increased, stakeholders have formulated international coalitions to help ensure that their supply chains are clean. When industrial mines went into lockdown for extended periods during 2020 and 2021, demand for cobalt did not graciously hibernate.

They fear tunnel collapsing, working in radioactive water, and speaking out against their meagre wages. The rapacious appetite for cobalt is a direct result of today’s device-driven economy combined with the global transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. They exist at the edge of human life in an environment that is treated like a toxic dumping ground by foreign mining companies. In all my time in the Congo, I never saw or heard of any activities linked to either of these coalitions, let alone anything that resembled corporate commitments to international human rights standards, third-party audits, or zero-tolerance policies on forced and child labor. Siddhart Kara has done an immeasurable service to the people of the Congo telling their stories and speaking truth where there is global political and corporate silence from those relentlessly pushing Evs and phone upgrades which depend so much on the supply of cobalt.They will assure you that conditions are not as bad as they seem and that they are bringing commerce, wages, education, and development to the poorest people of Africa (“saving” them). I also must thank all in Congo that were involved in the making of this book; may it bring your truth to the world and may we all be strong enough to make the change that needs to be made - your stories have forever changed me and I will never, ever, forget you. This account reinforces our understanding of the interdependent and mutually reinforcing nature of all human rights and the many negative externalities of our modern global economy. Although there are bad actors at every link in the chain, the chain would not exist were it not for the substantial demand for cobalt created by the companies at the top. Although most people have never heard of Kolwezi, billions of people could not conduct their daily lives without this city.

These procedures are especially important in the Congo, where the dangers of speaking to outsiders cannot be overstated.It's made me strongly consider making real changes in my life to help offset the need for more and more cobalt to be mined. Siddharth Kara (Sociology and Social Policy) is part of the Rights Lab's Measurement and Geographies Programme and is a British Academy Global Professor (2020-2024). If they didn’t contract the virus and share it with their family causing death, they still stopped their education to provide for US. Out of an abundance of caution, I have used pseudonyms for my guides and the brave individuals whose testimonies are included in this book. It's tale is very uncomfortable sitting safely and writing this on a mobile phone containing cobalt but if we don't care to know about this it will continue.