A report from CBS this week revealed the working conditions of tens of thousands of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who work in mines to extract the cobalt needed for lithium batteries.
CBS News’ investigation of child labor in African cobalt mines revealed the shocking fact that tens of thousands of children are still growing up without a childhood. On Monday we showed you how most of the mineral used to make batteries is unearthed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
CBS estimates that two thirds of children in the region of the DRC they visited are working in mines and are not in school. It is believed there are 40,000 children working in cobalt mines across the country.
Core News has previously reported on how companies such as Tesla are dependent on cobalt produced in the DRC to make their products.
Apple told CBS that walking away from the DRC, “would do nothing to improve conditions for the people or the environment.” The children working in the mines there make a “dollar or two” daily and do not attend school at all.
