VIDEO. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a cobalt mine just under the house, twenty meters underground

In Kolwezi, Hervé, a 28-year-old Congolese computer scientist, changed jobs when he discovered a cobalt vein just under his house. Like his younger brother Jean-Baptiste (who was a carpenter), he became a miner. His small property is now a mining concession, like almost all the plots in his neighborhood – themselves neighboring open-pit mines operated by foreign companies, mostly Chinese.

A journalist from “Envoyé Spécial” accompanied Hervé and his brother to the well they had drilled on the site of their old toilet. The descent, without helmet or harness, hanging on a simple rope, is perilous. To put the feet, simple notches were dug in the rock. Fifteen minutes later, at a depth of 15 meters, the first traces of the ore are visible: a horizontal black line on the wall.

For only shoring, bags of rubble

Five meters lower, at 20 meters, two galleries start from the well, with only shoring of bags of rubble. Hervé affirms that there is no risk of a landslide, but confides that he was trembling with fear during his first descent. At this depth where air is scarce, a rudimentary wind tunnel system provides oxygen. As in the whole district, the electricity which feeds it is provided by a generator with capricious operation. A cut forces the trio to rise to the surface. The undertaking turns out to be even more complicated than the descent…

To manufacture a single battery for electric vehicles that must contribute to the energy transition, you need ten kilos of cobalt. Hervé brings up a ton a month from his artisanal mine, which he sells for 1,100 euros. On world markets, a ton of refined cobalt will sell for 50,000 euros, or 45 times more expensive.

Excerpt from the report “The damned of cobalt” to see in “Special Envoy” on March 30, 2023.

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