The shaming images that show where our iPhones, laptops REALLY come from

Images from mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including Shabara, show young children mining.

They mine for cobalt, a chemical component of nearly every modern technological product. Apple, Tesla, Samsung, and Microsoft are at the other end of the convoluted supply chain.

Big tech businesses like Apple and Tesla have long promised their glitzy showroom and shop visitors that all of their products are ethically sourced and distributed.

But a recent batch of photos taken from inside mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 90% of the world's cobalt is mined and used to produce the batteries that fuel our technologically advanced lifestyles, highlight unsettling issues.

A few grams of cobalt are needed for a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, while 10 kg is needed for an electric vehicle. Cobalt is the chemical component of almost every tech device that uses a lithium-powered battery on the market today.

Insisting that they hold their cobalt suppliers to the highest standards and that they only do business with smelters and refiners who follow their codes of conduct, companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Tesla, and others.



However, the images and videos from some of the biggest mines in Africa, from whence many of these suppliers obtain their cobalt, that DailyMail.com is able to release today, paint a different tale.



The precious cobalt is sought after by tired new moms sifting through nets of rocks with their newborns strapped to them, as well as by barefoot toddlers covered in chemicals who toil endlessly breaking open rocks for $2 per day.



In advance of the release of his new book, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, Siddharth Kara has been collecting dramatic photographs over the past few years in the Katanga region.



"Diamonds aren't dangerous, this is blood diamonds multiplied by a thousand." And you only purchase a diamond once or twice in your lifetime, whereas cobalt-dependent devices are necessary for Western society to function for longer than 24 hours. Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives author Siddharth Kara

The book provides a scathing picture of the Western world's insatiable need for cobalt and its deadly consequences for African families.

Prior to its publication, Kara, an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, told DailyMail.com that his research shows that it is unwise to believe the self-assured claims of big tech.

The world's poorest people make up thousands of those employed in cobalt mining.

"We have turned back the moral clock to colonial times."

"They're doing it for $2 a day, and for them, it means whether or not they eat that day, so they have no choice but to do it."

According to Kara, Congo is suffering greatly as a result of the increasing demand for ecologically friendly cars, which is ironically being pushed by people who care about the environment.

Buying an EV is meant to be a green decision. It's not green for everyone, though.

The additional risk of cobalt's toxicity comes together with the immediate issues of overcrowded, unregulated mines.


In the DRC, a young girl digs through rocks in search of cobalt to sell. Numerous Western businesses rely on the fact that they don't conduct business with the miners directly. Instead, they claim to hold those middlemen accountable to their codes of conduct and standards by purchasing the cobalt from refiners or smelters.

In a mine in the Katanga region of the DRC, a little child searches for cobalt. Kara claimed that although the children are regularly exposed to cobalt toxicity, they must pick between exposure and food.

According to Kara, who has spent years in the Congo conducting studies on the subject, prolonged exposure to cobalt can cause lung disease, deafness, birth problems, and numerous cancers.

"Diamonds aren't dangerous, this is blood diamonds multiplied by a thousand."

And you only purchase a diamond once or twice in your lifetime, whereas cobalt-dependent electronics are essential to western society's ability to function for longer than 24 hours.

One of his videos shows two kids breaking up rocks while being doused in deadly mine chemicals.

Their maximum age is seven or eight.

Large IT giants including Microsoft, Tesla, Apple, and Samsung have all pledged to stop utilizing cobalt in their products.

They have also relied on the fact that many of the mines are owned and operated by Chinese companies to argue that they are beyond their control.

Tesla struck a multi-year agreement with Glencore, a British-owned mining conglomerate that operates a copper and cobalt mine in the Katanga region, in 2020 to purchase 6,000 tons of cobalt from them.

A human rights organization sued Glencore in 2019 on behalf of the families of 19 Congolese children who perished in a company-run mine. The lawsuit was brought against Glencore.

20 of Apple's approved cobalt suppliers—23 in total—are Chinese smelters. While Western businesses insist on holding their suppliers to their own codes of behavior and standards, these rules appear to be lax at the other end of the supply chain.
20 of Apple's approved cobalt suppliers—23 in total—are Chinese smelters. While Western businesses insist on holding their suppliers to their own codes of behavior and standards, these rules appear to be lax at the other end of the supply chain.
The tech corporations were also named as defendants in the complaint, but the judge dismissed them, saying it would be difficult to establish a link between the businesses and the deceased children.

Kara is urging the trillion-dollar-valued American businesses to do more.

This is not China's fault. It uses high tech.

They are aware of the issues, but they choose to ignore them and place the blame on China. Although China does dominate, it is absurd to claim that this situation cannot be changed.

They start the cobalt demand. They are the ones who must start since that is their duty.

"Demand is the sole reason the supply chain exists. They all claim to source it responsibly and to have ethical supply chains, but when you visit the Congo, you can clearly see that this is untrue.

Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, which shut down its PR division in 2020, has informed the SEC in a number of reports that it is ceasing to use cobalt.

Musk will reveal the transition at Battery Day in 2020. He did not, however, provide a timetable for when Tesla would stop using the mineral altogether.

Twenty of the 23 approved cobalt suppliers on Appel's list are Chinese smelters.

When contacted by DailyMail.com, the company's reps declined to comment.

Additionally, firms are turning away from cobalt mining for other reasons besides those related to human rights. Cobalt is one of the most expensive components of an electric vehicle and can sometimes make up a third of the retail price due to its restricted supply.

Musk's strategy includes making all of Tesla's batteries in-house and avoiding the purchase of cobalt for batteries.

There is a continuing global quest for additional cobalt resources.

The world's cobalt deposits pale in comparison to those of the Congo. DRC had 3.6 million tons of cobalt in its earth as of 2019, which is three times more than Australia.