Children as young as seven are being sent down dangerous mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to extract highly valued cobalt for batteries to power the world's electronic devices.
Laptops, mobile phones and electric cars all require the mineral for lithium batteries, and half the world's cobalt supply is found in the DRC, a report by Amnesty and the NGO Afrewatch published on Tuesday said.
In 2014, about 40,000 children worked in mines across the country, according to UNICEF.
At least 80 artisanal miners died underground in southern Congo between September 2014 and December 2015, but that number could be far higher, according to the report. Full story...
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Laptops, mobile phones and electric cars all require the mineral for lithium batteries, and half the world's cobalt supply is found in the DRC, a report by Amnesty and the NGO Afrewatch published on Tuesday said.
In 2014, about 40,000 children worked in mines across the country, according to UNICEF.
At least 80 artisanal miners died underground in southern Congo between September 2014 and December 2015, but that number could be far higher, according to the report. Full story...
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- A child soldier in the Congo tells her story...
- Congo's coltan war: how the West can help...
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