A container vessel has sailed out of Angola's Port of Lobito carrying Lobito Atlantic Railway's first shipment of copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the US. The corridor, backed by the US and Europe, aims to create an efficient transport link from Africa's mineral-rich interior to the port on its west coast for export. The project is …
The expansion of industrial-scale mines that extract cobalt and copper for rechargeable batteries has led to forced evictions and human rights abuses, including sexual assault, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Amnesty International. “The forced evictions taking place as companies seek to expand industrial-scale copper and cobalt mining projects are wrecking lives and must stop now,” said …
In its rush to secure electric vehicle and battery-supply chains, the US government is splashing billions in commitments. But the US conveniently failed to mention that cobalt from the Congo has been at the centre of child labour abuses, as the State Department’s country report states. The US Labor Department put solar-grade polysilicon from Xinjiang province on a 2022 list …
