*Speaking of Cobalt and the DRC-CCC
Democratic Republic of the Congo - China / Corruption & Cobalt
I see where the DRC and Cobalt is still in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons or doing us any favours, as
Cobalt, the reverse of the electric dream "or the hidden side of its exploitation
View attachment 17737
This documentary is the fruit of three years of investigations by directors-journalists Arnaud Zajtman and Quentin Noirfalisse on the impact of the Cobalt sector in the DRC and the consequences of European policy in terms of evolution of the automotive sector.
Replacing all combustion vehicles with electric vehicles in the Union in 2035 is the European policy that the directors of the film wanted to question.
With this growing need, comes the large -scale production of batteries and therefore the need to produce ever more cobalt, an essential element of their composition which guarantees their stability.
A ore that is mainly found in the basements of the Democratic Republic of Congo which currently produces 60% to 70% of world production.
The film then stops in Kolwezi where the main mines of the country are located, whether they are the property of major industrialists, such as Glencore or Eurasian Resource Group, or thousands of craft miners.
And in the "world capital of cobalt", it is the reality of its extraction that the documentary shows.
It is about child work, but explains one of the directors, "it is only the tree that hides the forest".
The sector is plagued by corruption, human rights abuses and digging are at the mercy of the monopoly of Chinese buyers
"Environmental scandal"
There is also a whole problem around the environment and the toxicity of this exploitation with very exposed Congolese populations.
A team from the University of Lubumbashi has set up a program to study the impact of this activity on air and bodies.
What makes Professor Célestin Banza fear that Congo, formerly "geological scandal" for all the riches it has, becomes an "environmental and toxicological scandal".
Faced with these realities, automotive manufacturers are now trying to find new sectors.
In Europe, looks are turned to Finland in particular.
The film shows the concerns of its inhabitants in the face of what they consider a new ecological threat.
"Cobalt, the reverse of the electric dream", broadcast this Wednesday, September 28 at 6:25 pm Tu on the UN (RTBF/Belgium) and 8:00 pm Tu on RTS (Switzerland).
A film also available on the RTBF AUVIO streaming platform.
*All this
reminds me of a Book i read
View attachment 17740
View attachment 17738
Food for thought on the Days of our DRC Lives Bro
How much can a Koala Bare
Frank