Black workers are paying the price in the rush to mine cobalt

Jun 13, 2024
Black labor unions in the U.S. are building solidarity with exploited DRC miners, says reporter Adam Mahoney of Capital B.
Dela wa Monga, an artisanal miner, holds a cobalt stone at a mine in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo in 2022.
Junior Kannah/AFP via Getty Images

Why Western tech companies want more control over minerals in Africa

Modern electronics rely heavily on one thing: lithium ion batteries. With carmakers gearing up to increase electric vehicle production, the demand for lithium ion batteries doesn’t appear to be slowing down. These batteries rely on an increasingly important supply of the metal cobalt. Most cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central […]