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'The Dark Side of Cobalt, the Digital Age's Miracle Metal' (thestar.com) 68

Posted by EditorDavid from the price-of-miracles dept.
The Toronto Star just published a searing excerpt from the book Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower — written by a member of Canada's Parliament: It argues in part that "The social conflict that existed in the early days of Cobalt has been magnified a thousandfold in jurisdictions where the rule of law is compromised, and incursions into Indigenous territories heighten conflict." The world is searching for cobalt, the miracle ingredient of the digital age. The metal's capacity to store energy and stabilize conductors has made possible the proliferation of rechargeable batteries, smartphones and laptops. More crucially, in the face of catastrophic climate change, cobalt offers the hope of a clean-energy future. But cobalt has a much darker side. The relentless drive to feed the cobalt needs of Silicon Valley has led to appalling levels of degradation, child abuse and environmental damage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world's number one cobalt producer. The situation is so dire that human rights campaigners have denounced cobalt as the blood mineral of the 21st century.

In the 21st century, Canada's relationship to its resource extraction sector is coming under increasing scrutiny as we contemplate a world of melting ice and burning forests. So what can the story of Cobalt teach us in an age of pandemic, impending climate catastrophe, racial division and class strife? It may be that the shape-shifting metal will prove to be the miracle ingredient that leads us to a more sustainable way of life. Or it may be that we need to find a less rapacious balance between environment, social justice, human rights and the world's depleting resources.
The article points out that big tech companies "would love to cut their ties with the abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but cobalt is an extremely elusive metal, and the struggle to secure cobalt supplies is taking place within the context of a much broader geopolitical struggle with China."

Thanks to Slashdot reader Goatbot for sharingi the article.
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'The Dark Side of Cobalt, the Digital Age's Miracle Metal' More

'The Dark Side of Cobalt, the Digital Age's Miracle Metal'

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  • Cobalt and the DRC (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Sunday January 30, 2022 @02:38PM (#62221607)

    The Democratic Republic of Congo may well be the world’s top producer of cobalt, and a number of mines there may engage in abusive practices, but that isn’t true of all of them any more than the notion that “racism exist in America, so all Americans are racist”. In fact, most of Big Tech have had programs in place to ensure responsible sourcing of cobalt for years at this point. Apple has been tracking their sources of cobalt since at least 2017 to ensure it’s on the up and up. Glencore is one of the leading cobalt suppliers for all of those big companies, and it isn’t buying cobalt from any “artisanal mines” (a euphemistic term the industry uses for mines that use child labor or otherwise engage in abusive practices). Tesla has been tracking their sources since at least 2020 to ensure their cobalt isn’t coming from those mines either, and it’s additionally pursuing battery technology that doesn’t rely on cobalt, the latter of which is also true of Samsung and Panasonic. Check the transparency or environmental accountability reports for most of these companies and you’ll find that the child labor problem has already been addressed, at least inasmuch as their sourcing is concerned, though clearly there continue to be unscrupulous companies willing to buy from these mines.

    On that topic, the author of this book is apparently Canadian, which got itself into trouble a few years ago for allowing cobalt imports from Cuba which were themselves of questionable origin. Those supplies from Cuba to Canada got Panasonic and Tesla in trouble back in 2018 when they later tried to sell their resulting products in the US. The fallout from that situation encouraged them to take their sourcing a bit more seriously.

    • Even with well organised mines there's still the problem of private military and pay offs to warlords. Business over there is never going to be pretty.

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by argStyopa ( 232550 )

      "...âoeracism exist in America, so all Americans are racistâ..."
      I believe that's the key platform of the DNC.

      • The DNC says that America has racist systems in which all Americans participate, such as real estate policies or voting restrictions that sound race-neutral until someone does the analysis on who gets impacted. That is not the same as "all Americans are racist". Please do not falsely equivocate the positions.

        • Well, every major bout of racism in US history came from their party, every 50 years: 1860 1910 1960 against blacks, 2010 against whites and yellows.

          • Comment removed based on user account deletion

            • Instead of slinging insults, could please you -- plus the idiot who downmodded me -- please explain:

              • * which party promoted slavery in 1860s and which split off as Confederates?;
              • * which party the KKK was a wing of?;
              • * which party was nearly inanimous in enacting segregation laws (the other was split)?;
              • * what skin colors give you a bonus to school and university admission, housing, etc?

              There's plenty of racism going on, but the Enviromental Destruction Party isn't really involved in it.

    • If you go on Youtube and search for this topic you'll find that the only thing bigger than the cobalt mining industry in the DRC is the industry making news programs/documentaries complaining about cobalt mining in the DRC. Yeah, I get that it occurs, but are 8,000 different hand-wringing Youtube videos really the way to deal with it? And how does it compare with other exploitative practices in Africa, or poverty and starvation in Africa? Having lived in an African country, what's shown in those document
    • You nailed it. I just listened to an interview with the author. Says the same thing essentially https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live... [www.cbc.ca]

  • Feel good measures. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Dorianny ( 1847922 ) on Sunday January 30, 2022 @02:38PM (#62221611) Journal
    If history teaches us anything, it is that making a country poorer only leads to more violence and abuse.

    • The real issue is that many African nations have a culture of corruption whereby everyone expects to abuse their authority to enrich themselves. The current leader of Congo (Félix Tshisekedi) seems like he's doing right by his people on the surface though his "chief of staff Vital Kamerhe was found guilty of embezzling public funds and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison," which doesn't bode well.

      If the culture of corruption could be displaced by one that vilifies corruption then people wouldn't be

      • >The real issue is that many African nations have a culture of corruption ... If the culture of corruption could be displaced by one that vilifies corruption then people wouldn't be so poor which alleviates the cause of much of the violence.

        The real issue?

        Often, rich foreign nations have a tendency to favor corrupt politicians when natural resources are in play.

        • Sounds like you are talking about the resource curse [wikipedia.org] the cause of which is a topic of debate.

          • Interesting link.

            I'm thinking of external pressures, where it can be tempting to promote or keep in power less representative leaders, ones that might favor foreign interests or preclude resource nationalization.

            • It is important we look at problems objectively, especially sociopolitical ones because it's very easy for our personal biases to lead our thinking astray. I believe putting the blame on any one source is oversimplifying the problem when in fact multiple problems could be feeding off each other. When this is the case, you need to look at which factor changing would break the feedback loop.

              However, when pressed, there is one thing at the center of all these problems: the human psyche, which is the most dan

              • >I believe putting the blame on any one source is oversimplifying the problem when in fact multiple problems could be feeding off each other.

                I completely agree and

                >It is important we look at problems objectively, especially sociopolitical ones because it's very easy for our personal biases to lead our thinking astray

                that's definitely also a part of what motivated my original comment.

                >However, when pressed, there is one thing at the center of all these problems: the human psyche, which is the most d

                • The human mind is behind each of issues of corruption and selfishness. It's also what makes us such an intelligent species, which makes us far more capable of amazingly destructive feats, even to our own kind.

                  If our minds were advanced enough to recognize that humans have become a single tribe then these problems would no longer exist.

                  • >... If our minds were advanced enough to recognize that humans have become a single tribe then these problems would no longer exist

                    Some assumptions I disagree with. I don't think we aren't advanced enough (though what advanced means isn't really clear to me here), that we've become a single tribe (in what sense again; and maybe we already were, or could become), or that that would possibly mean, or imply, that these problems would no longer exist.

                    • If we were advanced enough then we wouldn't have gangs, anti-government types, or the sovereign citizen fools. We can be taught we are one tribe but nothing about it is inborn.

                    • We also wouldn't have homeless beggars, scammers, and tax dodgers.

                    • >If we were advanced enough then we wouldn't have gangs, anti-government types, or the sovereign citizen fools ... also wouldn't have homeless beggars, scammers, and tax dodgers.

                      In what way, that leads to those, aren't we advanced enough ? How do some know this while others don't ?

                    • In what way, that leads to those, aren't we advanced enough?

                      That is debatable.

                      How do some know this while others don't ?

                      Also debatable but it's not inborn because it must be learned.

                      What isn't debatable is the fact that few people know and behave as if we are one tribe.

                    • >How do some know this while others don't ? >Also debatable but it's not inborn because it must be learned.

                      The idea that learning can be only nurture and not at all nature is debatable. The idea that something can be strictly only learned, I think implies 'learned' can be a process or ability that's divorced from ourselves, from our body (the body here includes the brain and the idea we aren't 'just' a thing).

                      If you are saying it's mostly a learned thing, could you explain why ? I'm not saying it's mo

                    • Your argument has moved into the inane. Good day.

                    • >Your argument has moved into the inane

                      Sorry to hear you misunderstood my comment. I wasn't making an argument.

                      It started out with me making my first comment in counter position to your comment which seemed to me to hold a strong bias.

                      After that I have been trying to understand your concepts of human advancement, of the source of social strife, and of the human psyche.

                      >We can be taught we are one tribe

                      We are also taught we are not. I think we are one tribe, in the sense we are basically the same. By t

      • his "chief of staff Vital Kamerhe was found guilty of embezzling public funds and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison," which doesn't bode well.

        How is "thieving, lying politician sent to prison for 20 years" not a good thing? We need more of that in the west. A lot more. Bankers and stockbrokers, too.

        • How is "thieving, lying politician sent to prison for 20 years" not a good thing?

          It speaks to the kind of people he trusts. His administration could be chock-full of thieves.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tragedy ( 27079 )

            Seems hard to draw that conclusion from one anecdotal corrupt politician who was ultimately convicted. Corruption is a tricky beast as well. For example, which system is more corrupt? One where you have the occasional, or maybe even frequent politician caught taking bribes or embezzling public funds, or one where the very system itself has been streamlined so that money flows into politician's pockets without them taking overt bribes or dipping directly into public funds, or they simply get to enjoy the thi

  • Wrong culprit! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Stoutlimb ( 143245 ) on Sunday January 30, 2022 @02:46PM (#62221633)

    The problem isn't the mineral. It's humans being nasty to each other.

    • Re:Wrong culprit! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by DontBeAMoran ( 4843879 ) on Sunday January 30, 2022 @04:05PM (#62221821)

      “This planet has a problem, which is this: most of the people living on it are unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions have been suggested for this problem, but most of these are largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it isn't the small green pieces of paper that are unhappy.” - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

  • For the time being. (Score:3)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Sunday January 30, 2022 @02:52PM (#62221645)

    I feel like everyone has forgotten the advancements we've made on this.
    New Cobalt-Free Lithium-Ion Battery Reduces Costs Without Sacrificing Performance [utexas.edu]

    I feel like media outlets don't like the good news when they can focus on the bad.

    • No, that article doesn't understand that the only way to solve the problem is to find the balance between environment, social justice, human rights and the world's depleting resources. That's the only way. Nothing else can work. /s

      • Well, the other thing that can work is completely discounting human rights and turning overseas nations into cesspools. In other words, look the other way from the resource producers and there is no problem for the resource consumers. There's no profit to aiding the resource producing people, so it is hard to see what would motivate the economic system as a whole to find a balance. A carbon tax can make the economic system take CO2 emissions into account, but I've yet to hear a price motivator for human suf

      • Whether it's cobalt, lithium, graphite, rare earth metals, silver, indium, copper or plain old silica is irrelevant. Somewhere someone has to dig a hole in the ground to get the ore, then process it to the required form and purity. This will make a mess.

        There are trade offs to be made. We have one group of Greens demanding renewables now, and another group suing to stop any new mine or processing plant proposed.

        By the way, one of the few cobalt deposits in the US is right next to the Salmon River in Idaho.

        • Same ore in Cobalt Ontario loaded with arsenic. We do have the means to process that arsenic safely and permanently. Electra Battery Materials / First Cobalt Inc. and Canada Cobalt Silver works are a few in my area and Idaho that can process it safely. For the moment cleaner ore is available in DRC and the copper pays for the extractions. Mining is all about the dividends unless an investor is making 15% or more they don't bother.

  • Wait, what? The cobalt needs of Silicon Valley? How much cobalt is used in Silicon Valley? I did not know nobody else buys stuff with cobalt in it. I mean, what about everyone who compels Silicon Valley sell them stuff? Also, do not forget the guys who make 10 gigaton cobalt salted nukes. That uses cobalt too.

  • No worries, m8 (Score:3)

    by martinX ( 672498 ) on Sunday January 30, 2022 @07:31PM (#62222333)

    No worries, cobber. Seems Straya has the second largest reserves of cobalt ON THE PLANET (or in the planet. whatevs). We'll look after you septics.

    All transactions will be carried out using dollarydoos.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

  • Century Cobalt [centurycobalt.com]of Los Angeles has info on their site about their interest in mining cobalt in Idaho. I didn't see much there about refining it.

  • I always find it amusing when a group of people tries to fix what they perceive to be a problem only to step on the metaphorical rake of the consequences of their one-and-only solution.

  • What's happening in the DRC are de facto standard practices for the mineral extraction industry as a whole. At least since the British Empire's East India Trading Company, govts have been supporting & protecting globalised mineral extraction corporations from prosecution & negative press. It's one of those inconvenient truths about consumerism: We, in the empire & its colonies have an insatiable desire for new consumer products, which then get turned into even more pollution when they're no long
  • https://www.hindawi.com/journa... [hindawi.com] adsorption from seawater for cobalt along with the advancement of cobalt free Li+ battery tech is good

  • is cheap labor.

    Google world cobalt reserves and you'll find almost as much... in Canada. And Australia. But you'd have to pay union wages to miners, and, oh, dear, think of rhe losses to ROI!

  • China has been buying up rare earth mines for cobalt and other metals, so the article is right that we should not put idealism before common sense when it comes to securing the resources we need for the future.
  • It's a good listen. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live... [www.cbc.ca]

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