With many rural communities in Africa being reliant on artisanal mining for their livelihoods, industries using cobalt are becoming sensitive to potential negative impacts in the mining supply chain.
News agency Reuters has reported there are 150,000 to 200,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alone who earn their living from informal cobalt mining. At the same time, manufacturers of products such as batteries and electric vehicles want to ensure that their supply chains are ethical, according to Wouter Jordaan, partner and principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting.
“Social aspects such as human rights violations have come to the fore as serious risks to formal cobalt producers, as customers want better traceability and integrity in their supply chains,” said Jordaan. “Many companies are now applying or incorporating standards and guidelines such as the due diligence guidelines from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to audit their supply chains.”
Read the full article on First Mining DRC Zambia.
