In their struggle for its minerals, which are crucial for the energy transition, China, the US, and Europe frequently portray the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ) as a victim of exploitation.
However, according to our research, the DRC has the ability to affect the structure of the chrome market, where it is the second largest producer. A very significant material is copper. It is necessary for the production of electric cars because it stops capacitors from overheating.
Our studies, conducted in both China and the DRC, reveals how institutions that are often viewed as external, such as the DRC, can control and often define international sectors.
Based on our research, which included visits to China’s developing infrastructure and its artisanal and professional cobalt mines, was conducted over the course of several months. To examine legal and administrative choices, we also examined nearby media and government records.
We found that there’s a high level of power by the DRC government, both national and regional. International battery supply chains are affected by political decisions made in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, or in mining-related areas like Kolwezi.
For example, as the maker of 70 % of the world’s chrome, the DRC has control over the world electric car battery supply chain.
Despite this, the DRC is n’t using this effect for the benefit of the DRC individuals. According to estimates, 74 % of DRC residents still reside in poverty. Some mining revenues are split between the government and local communities, but their daily lives do n’t really improve.
Some continue to face hunger, waste, and unsafe working problems in and around the mine.
China’s chrome control
Cobalt was initial excavated in the DRC in 1914 during the extended period of French invasion, from 1885 to 1960, when many of the country’s beautiful resources were pillaged by Belgium.
Today, DRC cobalt is shipped to China, which accounts for 65 % of all global cobalt processing into cathodes for lithium-ion batteries ( rechargeable batteries ). China dominates the electric vehicle industry and is the world’s largest producer of these chargers. In 2023, one in five vehicles sold abroad was an electrical vehicle.
Over the past 20 years, China’s chrome refining and power manufacturing sector has experienced rapid growth. Chinese businesses have made significant investments in building sophisticated control features and large-scale manufacturing facilities.
These factories combine fresh cobalt from the DRC with high-purity chrome compounds and assemble them into battery cathodes. Chinese manufacturers like Huayou Cobalt, CATL, and BYD have positioned themselves as world leaders in chrome processing and power production, supplying the world’s electric car market.
Although large chrome deposits are controlled by Chinese mining companies, both private and public, our research revealed that the DRC has a major influence on the industry as a whole.
For example, when the DRC government suspended imports from the largest Chinese-owned chrome me in 2022 over economic problems, it temporarily halted about 10 % of global chrome creation.
More recently, when governor Fifi Masuka Saini was appointed in the cobalt-rich Lualaba province of the DRC, she seized trucks loaded with cobalt to avenge Chinese companies that had been a close ally of President Kabila. The end result was a reshaping of Chinese businesses in line with the new administration.
Local politics can also cause a standstill in production. For instance, China’s cobalt industry sources some cobalt from artisanal miners, and in 2021, the national government of the DRC canceled contracts with artisanal sites despite having received provincial government approval.
Although Kinshasa pushed for the establishment of a central purchasing unit for the province’s artisanal cobalt, provincial interests fought against this strategy. Chinese businesses found themselves in the middle.
The Chinese and Congolese engaged in lengthy negotiations, which placed the company in a delicate position depending on Kinshasa and Kolwezi’s political wills.
The government has also been able to exert its influence on minerals by promoting more domestic processing and better mining contracts. In 2018, for instance, it declared cobalt a” strategic” resource and tripled export taxes.
Locals have n’t benefited
However, despite the influence the DRC can exert over the sector, those that should be benefiting from the lucrative cobalt industry, like the miners, are n’t.
In the south-eastern region of the country, there are currently at least 67 artisanal cobalt mines. About 150, 000 artisanal miners work in the industry, and face hazardous conditions.
These include being exposed to radioactive gas and buried in collapsing mine pits.
Up to 50 % of miner’s income is seized by cooperatives, which are frequently run by powerful politicians. An estimated 40, 000 children labor in the DRC’s artisanal cobalt mines under dangerous circumstances.
Our research demonstrates that the shift to clean energy technologies is not just a result of revolutionary research or powerful elites. Global supply chains may even be shaped by local elections in mining towns in Africa.
The transition to renewable energy is a global phenomenon. Countries like the US and China must treat producers like the DRC as partners in the global energy transition rather than as sole producers of raw materials whose local populations could suffer as a result.
Supporting localized supply chains, more local added-value, including further cobalt transformation in the DRC, fairer contracts, and other things, could be done to accomplish this.
Especially as the electric vehicle revolution accelerates, the often-overlooked voices and interests of mineral-producing regions like the DRC must be heard.
This study provides insights for policymakers, businesses, and concerned citizens working toward a cleaner energy future by revealing these less well known power dynamics.
Raphael Deberdt is a postdoctoral fellow in the Colorado School of Mines ‘ mining engineering division. Assistant professor Jessica DiCarlo is employed by the University of Utah.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.