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According to the International Energy Agency, by 2040, the world will need twenty times more cobalt if it wants to switch to clean energies, in particular to produce electric batteries. So in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 80% of the world’s production of this raw material comes from, there is a rush.
The scene is chilling: Hervé, a young Congolese, goes down every day into a narrow well, which he dug himself, in search of cobalt. This ore is essential for the energy transition: it is used, among other things, for the manufacture of electric batteries. “Special Envoy” accompanied one of these “damned cobalt” working 20 meters underground in an artisanal mine, which fails to collapse at any time and where oxygen is scarce. With the strength of the arms, each month, Hervé brings up a ton of cobalt. Sale price: 1,100 euros. What slightly improve his daily life and that of his family, but not enough to get out of poverty. A paradox when you think that the Democratic Republic of Congo holds the largest cobalt reserve in the world.
Natural wealth that few Congolese enjoy
The country could have used this providential windfall to finally bring its population out of underdevelopment. Yet the vast majority of Congolese barely benefit from this resource. The authorities have sold the main mines to foreign companies, mostly Chinese. Only crumbs of cobalt remain for the Congolese, who see, before their eyes, the natural wealth of their country confiscated by other nations.
A report by Julien Fouchet, David Kalinga and Marielle Krouk broadcast in “Special Envoy” on March 30, 2023.
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