Mineral extraction

All published articles with the tag "mineral extraction".

Cobalt - a tricky road to sustainable transport

Most of the world's cobalt production is extracted in Congo-Kinshasa. Photo: Enough Project. Source: Flickr.

Of: Melanie Alphonse

The extraction of the minerals cobalt and lithium has increased in connection with the demand for electric cars. Several companies are interested in opening mines in northern Sweden, something that risks threatening the Sami right to land and culture. At the same time, multinational mining companies are exploiting child labor and violating human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the world's largest exporter of cobalt.

February 24, 2022, Interview

The reverse of the green transition: Workers were buried in the cobalt mines

This is what it looks like in the Kaniola gold mine in the South Kivu region of Congo-Kinshasa. An example of very precarious working conditions. Photo: Enough Project. Source: Flickr.

Of: Elin Holm

The mining of metals used in technology often leads to severe human rights violations. In Chinese-owned mines in the Congo, people work in dangerous conditions - in some cases they have been locked up and buried in the mines, according to Richard Mukena, head of human rights at the Afrewatch organization. Olof Björnsson, researcher at Swedwatch, believes that the risks of human rights violations increase together with the extraction of metals.

December 28, 2021, Interview