Congo pays price of progress for electric battery boom

DW (English)

As demand for electric batteries surges, communities in the DR Congo face harsh consequences. Former cobalt miner Phillipe Masudi fights for responsible mining, seeking justice and a sustainable energy transition that protects local lives.

Transcript

00:00Hot Katanga, located in southeastern DRC, is a region that inspires both hope and concern.

00:07Its vast reserves of critical minerals, which include cobalt, copper and lithium, are crucial

00:12to their energy transition and attracts companies from around the world.

00:16But Katanga's wealth often comes at the expense of local people.

00:22My biggest fear is that we as a population cannot benefit from our natural resources.

00:29The greed extends to the poorest communities, where mining remains the most viable source

00:34of income.

00:35Nowadays, children don't want to go to school.

00:38They want to work at the mines.

00:41Activists fighting exploitation in Hot Katanga are striving for improved educational opportunities

00:46for the region's youth.

00:49I'm now engaged to prevent children who are in places where minerals are exploited so

00:54that they will no longer have to suffer in the same way that I suffered.

01:00The government estimates that 20% of the cobalt exported from the DRC comes from Hot Katanga's

01:05artisanal miners.

01:07Approximately 110,000 regular artisanal miners work in the region, with numbers rising to

01:14about 150,000 seasonally.

01:17With few authorized artisanal mining sites, many miners enter illegal private concessions.

01:24The town of Fungurime, located about 270 km from Lubumbashi in Lualaba province, grapples

01:31with the harsh reality of illegal artisanal mining.

01:36This practice deeply affects the community and economy.

01:39Filipe Masudi, a former artisanal miner, guides us through the underground world of this clandestine

01:45activity.

01:47He fights for a better life for thousands of young miners and wants to protect them

01:51from exploitation.

01:52We are able to capture their daily lives with the help of a hidden camera, allowing us to

01:58meet miners directly in undisclosed locations.

02:04Is there any cobalt here?

02:06No, there is only copper here.

02:11How deep is the hole down there?

02:14It is too deep.

02:18How many people are inside the mine?

02:21Over there, I left 45 people down in the hole.

02:26The minerals extracted from these shafts fuel global greed.

02:29Despite their high market value, miners barely benefit.

02:33A full night of digging yields merely three 10 kg bags, while industries can produce tons

02:40of the same material in mere hours.

02:44Under Rwashi mining in Lubumbashi, mining activities generate significant profits for

02:49the multinationals, a stark contrast with the extreme poverty of local communities.

02:55Out of desperation for survival, children and their families break apart mining waste

02:59to extract cement components, endangering their health to make ends meet.

03:05Such is the case for these twin brothers.

03:09We are breaking stones here in Masugoshi to prepare for our school year and to buy clothes

03:14and notebooks.

03:15We've been here for two months.

03:17We'll start school later in the year.

03:20The whole family is gathered at this mining area.

03:23The twins are busy breaking up the stones while their aunt, who is nearby, collects

03:28the pieces to sift through them.

03:30This way, the process is both quick and efficient.

03:34The aunt explains to us the reasons that bring them here.

03:39My name is Miguel.

03:40I live in this neighborhood, Kawama, in this commune of Rwashi Mining.

03:46Here, I sift these stones to extract the finest elements for making mortar used in construction.

03:59A bag like this sells for 2,000 Congolese francs.

04:03In a day, we make 10 bags.

04:06It's really tiring, all this movement.

04:09My whole body is moving and it hurts.

04:11I do this because my husband is unemployed.

04:15Finding a job is very difficult in the DRC.

04:19Mining is a unique job which allows us to better meet the specific needs of our children.

04:26In Libumbashi's Rwashi Mining neighborhood, named after a major mining company, the contrast

04:31between wealth and poverty is striking.

04:35Residents here struggle daily just to survive.

04:38This community's circumstances illustrate how misery and opulence can co-exist, even

04:44in a region rich with resources.

04:47At this secret trading counter, the buyer fixes the price of all the minerals that transit

04:52through this place.

04:54We find a Chinese person who sets up his buying counter at the site and it's the same person

05:00who sets the price.

05:01He says the content is 4% and we'll pay like this, 5%.

05:05We pay like this, 6%.

05:07We pay like this.

05:09So they are the ones who impose the price.

05:13The miners must accept whatever price is offered.

05:19What truly moved me was the level of misery and suffering I saw in these young people's

05:24eyes.

05:30China remains overwhelmingly dominant in DRC's mining sector, with its firms owning

05:36over 70% of Congo's copper mines.

05:39Activists in the DRC have voiced concerns about China's heavy presence in the country,

05:45while locals remain at the bottom of the food chain.

05:48Beyond the financial exclusion of Congolese from the mineral boom, the environmental impacts

05:53are severe.

05:55In the same Fungurume region ravaged by industrial pollution, Benny Fuanda, an environmental

06:01enthusiast, feels powerless in the face of injustice.

06:06Together with Sylvie Manda, a civil society member and expert on women's issues in the

06:10mining sector, they set out to meet local communities to better understand the environmental

06:16challenges they face.

06:18We are in Manomapia, near Fungurume, and we are here to meet these mothers.

06:23You see them there, doing the laundry.

06:25They are out walking with their children, and we've come to tell them that this river

06:29is already polluted.

06:37The problem with Fungurume is the factory here.

06:45You see those white things, it's the acid, and this was a swamp river.

06:53The women here are using that polluted water.

06:58There was a big river here.

07:03Just a few years ago, the Manomapia river was the only source of water for the entire

07:07community.

07:08But intensive mining activities have polluted the water, making it unsafe to drink.

07:13With no alternatives, the communities are at the mercy of this contaminated water.

07:20My little brother, look at you jumping into this water.

07:25Please, do you know that this water is acidic and dangerous?

07:34We are already dead because of the acid.

07:36No, don't say that you're dead.

07:40Don't you have any other water sources here?

07:45No, there's no water here.

07:49So where are we supposed to wash our clothes and other things?

07:54The young people in this region face a grim choice.

07:58Poison themselves just to survive.

08:01With no access to clean water, their options are limited.

08:05As more parties join the fight for DRC's vast minerals, protecting the local men, women

08:11and children is a task Filipe and many others will continue to do.

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