After independence, the exploitation was then taken up by Congolese dictators and kleptocrats with help from the CIA.īillions of dollars in mining revenue pile up and somehow very little of it trickles down to the population at large. The system traces back to Belgian domination of the Congo, first to extract ivory and then - for the auto industry - rubber. Pay these men, women and children a buck or two a day, then mix the mined cobalt into the supply chain, with nary a trace of its hellish origin, and there’s plenty of money to be made - as long as you’re not a digger. One study showed as much as 30% of Congo’s cobalt is sourced from artisanal mines. The diggers scavenge “for whatever scraps they find, like birds picking at bones after the big cats have finished gorging,” Kara writes. These mines, not directly controlled by any major mining company, turn out lower-grade, hard-to-reach cobalt that may not be worth a big company’s investment. That quaint, trendy adjective is misleading. The focus is on so-called artisanal miners, known as diggers. There’s been a lot of on-the-ground reporting about the plight of the miners, but journalists tend to visit for short periods of time with managed access, leading to stories that may be hard-hitting but often superficial. Sometimes he was permitted inside the mines and sometimes he had to sneak in. He still met with obstruction and occasional hostility from militias armed with Kalashnikov rifles, but he carried documents from a few high-placed and cooperative local officials that averted disaster. Anyone who prefers not to put head in sand against the unnecessary human tragedy that accompanies our free-spending lifestyle will benefit from reading this book. Kara’s book is timely, important, compelling, and while the subject is tough his approach is clear and concise and, in that way, easy to read. But I’d guess that, like me - smartphone addict, laptop lugger, owner of an electric car - you had no idea just how bad. That’s what Siddharth Kara invites you to do in his damning new book, “ Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives.” Maybe you already know our booming battery-based economy depends on cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Look over here, under this rock look at what you’d rather not see. The electric car driver, smug in your certainty that you’re making the world a better place. The modern nomad, lugging your fancy laptop. If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from, whose fees support independent bookstores. Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
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