Glencore to help eradicate issues in DRC cobalt mining
Glencore has joined the founding members of the Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA) to help tackle ethical issues pervading the country’s cobalt supply chain.
The FCA, which is comprised of Fairphone, Signify, Huayou
Cobalt and the Impact Facility aims to take on problems such as poor working
conditions and child labour in building a responsible source of cobalt from the
artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector.
The members of the FCA will work with the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) Government to professionalise ASM mining
management, work towards child-labour free mines in Kolwezi, enrol local
children into schools and increase household incomes by investing in community
programs that are designed to create sustainable livelihoods outside of mining.
ASM is often associated with hazardous working conditions,
child labour, as well as limited access to legitimate, transparent markets.
Two-thirds of the global cobalt supply comes from the DRC.
While the majority is sourced from large-scale mining operations, it is
estimated that 11 per cent of cobalt exported last year came from ASM
operations.
The Impact Facility and FCA director Assheton Stewart Carter
said that it was the organisation’s duty to take action and make improvements
in this space.
“The security of cobalt supply chains is more important than
ever as our need for this highly relevant mineral in the new digital economy
becomes evident,” Stewart Carter said.
“Where we find environmental, social or labour problems in
supply chains, we should not avoid them, we should not disengage, but rather it
is our duty to take action and make improvements.
“The Fair Cobalt Alliance is a bold move to do just that, to
bring about systematic change by working with the local partners and engaging
all businesses in the supply chain to achieve a common goal.”
Cobalt ASM is the source of direct employment for more than
100,000 people across the DRC, with a total of 1.5–2 million artisanal miners
spreading across the African nation.
Glencore is the biggest western company operating in the
DRC, sourcing half of the world’s cobalt from the country.
The company prohibits child labour at its operations and
suppliers and does not support ASM and does not process or purchase any
material derived from ASM.
It has also run outreach programs for children in at-risk
communities, with over 9000 local children participating in 2018, Glencore
encouraging alternatives careers and livelihoods to ASM.
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