The fact that the battery of the smartphone is made up of cobalt excavated by child labor

Lithium-ion batteries that can store small and large capacity electricity are now built in devices such as smartphones and tablets that most people have, and hybrid cars that are becoming increasingly popular. For such lithium ioncobaltMetal is used as an electrode, but the fact that many children are engaged in the mining and production is clarified in the report of the International Human Rights Organization "Amnesty International".

Child labor behind smart phone and electric car batteries | Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/Child-labour-behind-smart-phone-and-electric-car-batteries/


Tech Giants Accused by Amnesty of Using Cobalt Dug by Children - Bloomberg Business
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/apple-may-be-using-congo-cobalt-mined-by-children-amnesty-says

Amnesty International report: Children mine cobalt used in gadget batteries | Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/amnesty-international-report-children-mine-cobalt-used-in-gadget-batteries/

◆ Children are being mobilized as labor force
It is a non-governmental organization of Amnesty International and CongoAfrewatch(African Resources Watch) published a report, it is located in central Africa and produces more cobaltDemocratic Republic of the CongoIt is revealed that children aged 7 to 14 are engaged in the extraction of cobalt and what kind of route the cobalt produced has spread throughout the world.

The figure below shows the situation clearly. Cobalt shipped from Congo located in the center of the image was imported into China (green), processed products of cobalt to Japan and Korea's battery production factory (blue), and to the USA and Europe countries finished products The fact that the battery is exported (pink) is shown.


Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, producing over half of the cobalt produced worldwide. Its output will reach 60,735 tons in 2015, of which 80% have been excavated by major mining companies.

What is regarded as a problem especially in this report is the remaining 20% ​​producers. These companies do not have large-scale production facilities like major companies and do mining as well as "hand digging" without using satisfactory machinesSmall scale mining(OrArtisanal mining) To produce cobalt and it is clarified that children and adults are engaged in mining in a dangerous environment that has serious health impacts.


Many of small scale mining companies (mining companies hereafter) are mining in Katanga Province located in the southeastern part of the Congo. The area where the plateau of about 1000 meters in height is predominant is known for abundant underground resources such as cobalt and uranium, and it is also an area where conflicts with neighboring countries have been spread over and over.

Many of the cobalt mined by these mining companies are Congo Dongfang Mining International (CDM) Has been bought by. CDM is one of the world's largest cobalt product makers, a Chinese company "Huayou Cobalt"It is a division of a mining company that processes ore purchased from mining companies as raw material for cobalt hydroxide in a plant located in the city" Lubumbashi "in the Congo and is exporting it to Chinese and Korean battery component manufacturers about. In 2014, 3561 tons of cobalt hydroxide is exported from the Congo by CDM.


On the grounds that mining operators mining in an adverse environment and the structure that CDM purchases cobalt from those vendors Amnesty International believes that "CDM and Huayou Cobalt are located in an important place in the cobalt channel" , "Very high risk" exists that children and adults buy cobalt produced by working in a dangerous environment and sell potentially. Huayou Cobalt who received the indication said that he knows the contents of the report, but the executive of the company said that in response to Bloomberg's telephone interview, "It takes time to reply".

According to Bloomberg, Huayou Cobalt previously had problems with mining children using illegal coal mines.

According to Amnesty International 's report, it is said that 40,000 children are involved in the mining industry in Congo, most of which are believed to be involved in cobalt mining. We do 12 hours of work per day, and the income earned by heavy rocks is about 1 dollar to 2 dollars per day (about 115 yen to 230 yen). While he goes to school on weekdays, some children do 10 to 12 hours of labor on weekends and school days off, but they said that children do not go to school and work all year round all year round . A 14 - year - old boy who began his mining work at the age of 12, a 14 - year - old boy asked Amnesty International investigator, "I often spend 24 hours in the mine tunnel, entering the mine in the morning It will come out the next morning. "


Also, according to what other children said, there are no roofs, working in a high temperature environment, sometimes working in the rain. Just like adult workers, we are always in an environment exposed to high concentrations of cobalt, but we are working without wearing gloves and masks to cover your face. Many of the children who interviewed complain that they will get sick with a high probability, the 15-year-old boy "Danny" asked the investigators, "There are so many dusts on the scene, I will catch a cold and I often get injured. "

Regarding this situation, Mark Danmett, a researcher at Amnesty International, said: "Advertisements with glittering storefront displays and the latest art technologies are children who carry bags filled with rocks and the risk of serious damage to the lungs It severely reflects the current situation of workers working in coal mines affecting them. "

◆ Distribution route of cobalt produced and reactions of manufacturers who are supposed to be supplied
The distribution route of cobalt produced by Huayou Cobalt which Amnesty International revealed based on various materials is summarized in the illustration below. CDM and Huayou Cobalt are located at the top of the supply chain (light blue), from which the cobalt products will be shipped to three battery component manufacturers (orange). The product flows from there to a number of battery manufacturers (yellow), and finally the structure that reaches various manufacturers (green) such as Apple, Samsung, LG, Mercedes, Sony, Volkswagen has been revealed.


In the report, the state of correspondence of each maker mentioned here is also described. According to it, Apple responded "Currently under evaluation" to the question that "Cobalt originating from Congo is used in your product" and "CDM or Huayou Cobalt Is included in your company's supply chain "as well as answering" I am currently evaluating "the answer. Also, for details on human rights policies and other details, we are currently evaluating a large number of raw materials including cobalt, to confirm the risks of labor and the environment and the opportunities to bring Apple to an effective, scalable and sustainable change Medium ", I am doing a time-consuming reply to understand.

Currently evaluating dozens of different materials, including cobalt, in order to identify labor and environmental risks as well as opportunities for Apple to bring about effective, scalable, and sustainable change.

Also, Samsung said, "It is very difficult to trace the origins of raw materials in practice because of supplier information disclosure and complicated supply chain structure, so cobalt mined at the Katanga mine in Congo It is impossible to specify whether it is supplied to Samsung SDI (a battery maker under Samsung). " Similarly, Microsoft commented, "Because of the complexity of the supply chain and the resources required, Microsoft has not traced the cobalt used in our products at refinery level," he said. In addition, Sony commented, "We have worked with suppliers to grasp human rights and labor environment at production bases and issues related to procurement of minerals and other raw materials."

Amnesty International's Danmet said in response to this report: "While millions of people are suffering from the benefits of new technologies, they rarely ask about how they are being produced, a huge brand company , It is time to fulfill some responsibility for resource mining of raw materials that bring great benefits to our company. "

The report published by Amnesty International can be freely downloaded from the following page. In addition to the above contents, the actual report includes the current status of mining companies, original documents of responses from CDM and Huayou Cobalt, problematic and requests for relevant enterprises and government levels.

Document | Amnesty International


The report can be downloaded locally by selecting "Chinese, English, French" from the pull-down menu at the bottom of the page and clicking "DOWNLOAD PDF".