Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives (2023) by Siddharth Kara is an exposé of the conditions in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kara documents the shocking environmental and human impacts that artisanal cobalt mining has in the region. The demand for cobalt mining has exploded in the past decade because cobalt is a critical component of rechargeable batteries, such as those used in computers, laptops, and electric vehicles. Kara describes the unsafe working conditions Congolese miners are exposed to, some of whom are children. He characterizes the contemporary cobalt mining industry as the most recent iteration of colonial exploitation in a region that was pillaged by Western powers for its rubber, copper, and other resources for centuries. Kara conducts on-the-ground research and interviews with miners and experts to expose the horrors of the industry. Cobalt Red was a New York Times bestseller and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Siddharth Kara has previously written three books about modern-day enslavement. His book Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (2009) won the Frederick Douglass Book Prize.

Content Warning: The source material features graphic depictions of violence, injuries, and death. It includes references to racist views about Congolese people and discussions of sexual assault and enslavement.

Summary

In the Introduction, Siddarth Kara lays out the argument, scope, and methodology of his investigation into the artisanal cobalt mining industry in the Congo. He opens with a graphic description of a boy who died in a mining accident, bringing immediate attention to the use of child labor. He then describes how manufacturers like Apple and Samsung hide behind layers of the supply chain to deny their responsibility for the human rights abuses taking place in the mines.

Kara researched the conditions in the mines over the course of three visits to the Congo mining region, where he observed mining activities and interviewed miners, their families, and experts. Kara connects the exploitation of Congolese resources to the history of the Congo. Congolese people were enslaved by Europeans for centuries. Later, the Belgians established a colony there, where they extracted resources for their own benefit. Kara describes the current exploitation of the Congo for cobalt as yet another link in this colonialist chain.

In Chapter 1: “Unspeakable Richness,” Kara describes why there has been a sudden rise in demand for cobalt. Congo is the source of the majority of the world’s cobalt. Cobalt is an essential component of rechargeable batteries used in consumer electronics and electric vehicles. As more of the world swaps out cars with combustion engines for electric cars, the demand for cobalt increases. Kara describes the supply chain that takes raw ore from Congo and transforms it into rechargeable batteries. In the Congo, artisanal, independent, small-scale miners mine raw ore which they then sell to a middle-man called a négotiant, who then sells it to a depot. The depots then sell it to industrial mining interests. In this way, the ore from artisanal miners is laundered into the formal economy and funneled up through the supply chain. Kara argues that these layers of distance shelter people from the reality of what occurs in small-scale, informal cobalt mining operations.

In Chapter 2: “Here It Is Better Not to Be Born,” Kara visits the mining towns of Lubumbashi and Kipushi. He opens with a description of the history of Lubumbashi, which was called Élisabethville when Congo was a Belgian colony. The Belgians established the first industrial mines in the region for copper. Although the mines are now owned by private industries, Kara argues that the working conditions have not changed significantly. Kara meets with miners in the area who complain about the lack of infrastructure development and the insufficient school funding.

Kara then goes to the mining town of Kipushi. He describes how, in the modern era, many of the mining interests are owned and operated at least in part by Chinese companies. Kara visits some of the mining sites, but he is limited in what he can document by Congolese soldiers who are there guarding the sites. Kara learns from an expert about the health impacts of mining on miners and those who live in the region; heavy metal poisoning is of particular concern. Kara meets with a group that is trying to improve conditions for miners, but he expresses skepticism that they will be able to accomplish their goals in the current economic and political climate.

In Chapter 3: “The Hills Have Secrets,” Kara visits the mining towns of Likasi and Kambove. He observes more mining sites in these locations. On these visits, Kara focuses on the child labor being used in the mines. Some of the children who work in the mines are as young as eight years old. Many of the children work breaking up heterogenite ore into smaller pieces to make them easier to carry, and washing the stones to rid them of dirt. While visiting an artisanal mining site in the hills, Kara is forced to leave when there is a mining accident and a child is killed.

In Chapter 4: “Colony to the World,” Kara provides a brief overview of Congolese history from the first European contact to the present day. In 1482, Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão landed at the mouth of the Congo River on the west coast of Africa. The Portuguese went on to establish a slave trading post there. Many Congolese people were captured and trafficked as enslaved persons. In 1885, King Leopold II of Belgium established his personal domain in the Congo, where he forced the Congolese people to labor on rubber plantations and by mining copper. In 1908, the Belgian state took over the colony and established more commercial mining interests there.

In 1960, Congo gained its independence and elected Patrice Lumumba prime minister. Western powers worked to have him deposed and executed. Congo was then led by military dictators Joseph Mobutu, Laurent Kabila, and Joseph Kabila. These leaders made deals with mining interests to personally enrich themselves. During the Kabilas’ reigns, Chinese companies invested heavily in the Congolese mining industry. In 2019, Félix Tshisekedi was elected president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He swore to combat government corruption and improve conditions for Congolese people.

In Chapter 5: “If We Do Not Dig, We Do Not Eat,” Kara visits the Tenke Fungurume, Mutanda, and Tilwezembe mining areas. There, he documents how children are trafficked from poor and dangerous areas to work in the mines. He argues that the children are essentially enslaved persons, as they are prevented by violence and lack of economic opportunity from leaving their work. Some of the children he speaks to report being trafficked by Congolese soldiers.

In Chapter 6: “We Work in Our Graves,” Kara visits the mining town Kolwezi, where some of the largest cobalt deposits are located. Kara describes the dangers of ad-hoc tunnels used in artisanal mines. When the tunnels collapse, people are buried alive. Kara meets with survivors who are badly injured. He investigates two “model mining” sites in the area that purport to have better working conditions than other artisanal mines. However, he finds that their safeguards have loopholes, and that they are not significantly safer than other artisanal mining sites.

In Chapter 7: “The Final Truth,” Kara observes the aftermath of a tunnel collapse in which people are killed. He is warned away from the area by soldiers. Later, he meets with the mother of a miner who died in a tunnel collapse. He learns that her nephew died in the tunnel collapse that he observed. He laments that the international community does not care about the human cost of cobalt mining.

In the Epilogue, Kara describes how the COVID-19 pandemic worsened conditions for miners. Many of them were forced to work despite the pandemic and without adequate protections, as demand increased for cobalt for rechargeable batteries. Kara criticizes the policies that have been proposed to improve working conditions in the mines, arguing that they are basically a public relations campaign and will not meaningfully help. He ends the book with a missive from Patrice Lumumba about his hopes for the eventual freedom of the Congolese people from colonial interests.