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posted by janrinok on Monday June 07 2021, @06:38PM   Printer-friendly

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.


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  • (Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday June 08 2021, @09:29AM (4 children)

    by driverless (4770) on Tuesday June 08 2021, @09:29AM (#1143072)

    Not only that, but the Congo was probably the most appallingly exploited by colonial powers country in Africa. The term "crimes against humanity" was originally invented to describe what Leopold II of Belgium, one of the biggest mass murderers of the 20th century, did there (that's not an exaggeration, it's just that he maimed, mutilated, and killed Africans rather than Europeans so virtually no-one has heard of him).

    It's not a surprise with that past they ended up a pretty messed-up country.

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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday June 08 2021, @11:37AM (3 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Tuesday June 08 2021, @11:37AM (#1143094) Homepage
    > it's just that he maimed, mutilated, and killed Africans

    Not really. He got other Africans to maim, mutilate, and kill Africans, a completely different approach to maintaining control, way more hands off.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday June 08 2021, @11:53AM

      by driverless (4770) on Tuesday June 08 2021, @11:53AM (#1143097)

      Well, it's a figure of speech, just like Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Tojo, and others never personally killed anyone when they were leaders. Had it gone to trial, Leopold would have been charged with crimes against humanity as the person responsible.

      Instead, the Belgians built monuments to him.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday June 08 2021, @05:18PM (1 child)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 08 2021, @05:18PM (#1143207) Journal

      way more hands off

      I saw [wikipedia.org] what you did there.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by FatPhil on Wednesday June 09 2021, @02:03PM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday June 09 2021, @02:03PM (#1143516) Homepage
        Thank you for letting me know my effort wasn't wasted.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves