They are only paid 1 or 2 dollars a day and are exposed to many risks, for example: fatal mine collapses, injuries caused by accidents, mercury poisoning and illnesses such as lung infections (Kippenberg, 2016 Nyirabihogo, 2016). Other children work sitting on the rocks at surface level – again without masks or gloves – collecting minerals that they find, sifting rocks and mine residue, sorting the minerals and then washing them to prepare them for transport (Amnesty International, 2016). With no mask or helmet, they go down into the shafts unprotected and put their lives in danger to bring mineral-encrusted rocks to the surface. Other children work there in order to be able to buy food and clothes or simply to pay for school.Īccording to an Amnesty International report, children work for at least 12 hours a day without protective equipment in deep underground shafts around 10 metres long, which they have often dug themselves. According to the International Labour Organisation “child labour unifies all the activities which deprive children of their childhood, potential and dignity, along with harming their schooling and physical and mental development” (UNICEF, n.d.).Įxtreme poverty means that working in the mines is a necessity for some Congolese families, who are left with no choice but to send their children to work in mines without oversight. These children, aged between 3 and 17, have to work in appalling and dangerous conditions, usually barefoot. It is estimated that 20% of the mines in the DRC are small-scale and use mostly child workers. Currently, it is still estimated that in the DRC some 40,000 children have to work in these mines to collect this mineral instead of going to school, playing or simply experiencing childhood (Kara, 2018 Courboulay, 2020). This is a very precious mineral, with over 60% of world production originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo where 20% of the mines are small-scale (Quioidbach, 2019). Lithium-ion batteries are needed to make these electronic devices work, and the batteries use rare mineral cobalt. The health crisis was also behind the unprecedented rise in sales of rechargeable electric and hybrid vehicles, according to figures published by the Association of European Manufacturers (Szirniks, 2001). As a result there was a 26% hike in sales of electronic devices such as smartphones, computers and tablets.

Last year, after schools and businesses closed during the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, remote working and learning via video-conferencing were increasingly relied on, even becoming the main means of communication.

Cons of child labor in cobalt mines