Foreign Media: Hidden Cost of Cobalt Mine Behind Moral Consumption

Thousands of miners scoured underground tunnels for cobalt in sunny and dusty areas of southern Congo. Many of them work by hand in the hope of earning a living from the meagre wages offered by the mining site. They are called "human diggers" (reported by American journalist Todd C. Frankel, Photography by Lena Mucha, a German journalist, translated by tungsten online).

On a good day, miners say, they can earn nearly $30 from working in the pit from morning till night. But they don't use electric tools, masks or gloves. They do so because they live in one of the poorest countries in the world. Labor insurance? Dare not think much, the simplest requirement is to be able to fill the stomach and support a large family, there is work is God's alms.

Cobalt is a very valuable mineral, which is essential for smart phones and lithium-ion batteries used in many electric vehicles. Most of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Congo region. These large cobalt-rich rocks left Congo and were eventually sent to refineries in Europe and China to enter the complex supply chains of some of the largest technology and automotive companies.

Miners know that their work is dangerous. Deaths and injuries caused by tunnel collapses are not uncommon. Children sometimes enter the mine with their brothers and fathers. But what people don't really understand is the environmental health risks caused by extensive mining. Congo has not only a large number of cobalt, tungsten, tantalum, tin and copper deposits, but also uranium deposits. Scientists have recorded amazing levels of radioactivity in some mining areas. Mining waste often pollutes rivers and drinking water, and dust from crushed rocks is known to cause respiratory problems, such as pneumoconiosis.

There is no doubt that mining has provided much-needed work for millions of poor people in the Congo region. But the damage to the land caused by this work is regarded by many as devastating. Last year, Lena Mucha, a 34-year-old German photographer, contacted people affected by mining activities. She met the aborted mother and photographed the deformed baby whose father worked in the mine. Several babies in a hospital in the Congolese city of Kipsy suffered severe congenital defects (anencephaly) and died immediately. Doctors believe that a large number of premature births and birth defects are related to toxic exposure related to mining activities.

Adele Masengo, 41, and her children live in Lubumbashi, Congo. She had two infants with severe birth defects and her eldest daughter was blind at the age of 12. Her husband works in a manual mine. "When my baby was born, they took blood and placenta samples, but we never got results." (Lena Mucha)

60% of global cobalt mining comes from Congo, as Mucha wants to tell the world, "We all use cobalt... it's hard not to use it, but it's important to let people know the story behind it."

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