SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Electric Car Batteries Are Turning This Country Into an Actual Hellscape:
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.
A lack of regulations and enforcement over the mines has resulted in the miners, who risk their health and safety for financial security, being exploited by officials and traders who are unscrupulously lining their own pockets, according to The New Yorker. One miner told the publication that he now struggles to pay his $25 monthly rent even as the value of cobalt continues to soar — and the only alternative was to work at a major corporation's mine for considerably less money.
Meanwhile, thousands of children have been put to work as well, according to The New Yorker, some of whom say they can't remember the last time they could afford a meal. In order to keep them working, the kids are often even drugged with appetite suppressors.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 07 2021, @07:35PM (4 children)
TFA holds the answer.
(Score: 3, Informative) by hendrikboom on Monday June 07 2021, @07:47PM (3 children)
TFA says that Chinese companies have bought a lot of those mines and are imposing changes designed to keep the workers safe.
It's not clear to me whether this is the answer to the question.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 07 2021, @07:59PM
American Jews insist that we all be driving electric cars by 2030, because climate change and by coincidence their investments in "green" energy. Also wouldn't want any Goyim going on road-trips giving money to other impoverished Goyim, as Goyim need to keep their dollars in the Jew-run cities where they belong!
(Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday June 08 2021, @09:20AM (1 child)
Of course it's not! If it said that Chinese companies were exploiting the workers and polluting the countryside, then it'd be the answer to the question.
(I must say I was surprised to read that Chinese companies were improving things for the workers in Africa, it's not usually something they're noted for).
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday June 08 2021, @02:48PM
What mining company isn't? People don't work for foreign mining companies when there's better work around. Every such job is an improvement for the worker.