Electric Car Batteries Are Turning This Country Into an Actual Hellscape

Photo: Fairphone via Flickr. Article by Dan Robitzski. Futurism | The Byte. – June 4, 2021.

Cobalt mining is having a disastrous impact on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Buried Treasure

As the demand for gadgets and electric cars grows, so too are the mining operations that dig up cobalt to use in lithium-ion batteries.

And that’s become a serious problem for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The New Yorker reports, which sits atop about 3.4 million metric tons of the stuff — half of the entire planet’s supply. A massive, gold rush-like mining industry was born after residents in poverty-stricken areas discovered ore deposits under their homes. But now, many are finding that digging up the valuable mineral has failed to lift them out of poverty. And meanwhile, dangerous conditions are killing miners as exposure to the metal is poisoning both people and the environment. […]

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Related articles:

The Dark Side of Congo’s Cobalt Rush – The New Yorker

Families Sue Tech Giants for Deaths of Children in Cobalt Mines – Futurism

China’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth – For Rare Minerals – Forbes

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