DRC: Report spotlights toxic environmental, health and social impacts of cobalt mining including gynaecological and reproductive repercussions, incl. co. responses
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 27 Mär 2024
Standort: Kongo (Demokratische Republik)
Unternehmen
Kamoto Copper Company (JV between Glencore (75%) and Gecamines (25%)) - Parent CompanyProjekte
Glencore - KCC Cobalt & Copper Mine(s) in DRC (Mine Name Unknown)Betroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Gemeinschaft: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Kinder: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Women: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Themen
Violation of environmental safety standards , Impacts on Livelihoods , Personal Health , Wasserzugang , Water pollution , Air pollution , Soil pollution , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment , WirkungseinschätzungArt der Quelle: NGO
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 27 Mär 2024
Standort: Kongo (Demokratische Republik)
Unternehmen
Metalkol SA (part of ERG) - Subsidiary , Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) - Parent CompanyProjekte
Metalkol RTR ProjectBetroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Gemeinschaft: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Kinder: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Women: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Themen
Wasserzugang , Water pollution , Air pollution , Soil pollution , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment , Impacts on Livelihoods , Violation of environmental safety standards , Personal Health , WirkungseinschätzungArt der Quelle: NGO
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 27 Mär 2024
Standort: Kongo (Demokratische Republik)
Unternehmen
Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) (Joint venture between CMOC (80%) and Gecamines (20%)) - Parent CompanyProjekte
Tenke FungurumeBetroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Gemeinschaft: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Kinder: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Women: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Themen
Wasserzugang , Water pollution , Soil pollution , Air pollution , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment , Wirkungseinschätzung , Violation of environmental safety standards , Impacts on Livelihoods , Personal HealthArt der Quelle: NGO
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 27 Mär 2024
Standort: Kongo (Demokratische Republik)
Unternehmen
Ruashi Mining SAS (JV between Metorex (75%) and Gecamines (25%)) - Parent CompanyProjekte
MusonoiBetroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Gemeinschaft: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Kinder: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Women: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Themen
Wasserzugang , Water pollution , Air pollution , Soil pollution , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment , Wirkungseinschätzung , Violation of environmental safety standards , Impacts on Livelihoods , Personal HealthArt der Quelle: NGO
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 27 Mär 2024
Standort: Kongo (Demokratische Republik)
Unternehmen
Mutanda Mining - Subsidiary , Glencore - Parent CompanyProjekte
MutandaBetroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Gemeinschaft: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Kinder: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported ) , Women: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Themen
Wasserzugang , Water pollution , Soil pollution , Air pollution , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment , Wirkungseinschätzung , Violation of environmental safety standards , Impacts on Livelihoods , Personal HealthArt der Quelle: NGO
" New report exposes the environmental and human costs of DRC’s cobalt boom" 27 March 2024
A new report released today reveals that toxic pollution from industrial cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is having devastating human and environmental impacts. The findings challenge the narrative of ‘clean’ and ‘sustainable cobalt’ frequently promoted by multinational mining companies. Cobalt is a critical raw material used in the rechargeable batteries of electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies, and is largely sourced from the copper and cobalt belt of southern DRC.
The 110-page ground-breaking report, “Beneath the Green: A critical look at the cost of industrial cobalt mining in the DRC,” authored by UK corporate watchdog RAID and DRC-based African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH), is one of the first in-depth studies of the environmental impacts of industrial cobalt mining on the human rights of hundreds of thousands of Congolese people living in and around Kolwezi, the heart of DRC’s cobalt industry. Focused on the impacts of water pollution, it finds that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is routinely being violated for fenceline communities living in the shadow of the world’s largest cobalt and copper mines.
Communities visited by RAID and AFREWATCH said that the toxic contamination is harming their health and having destructive consequences on local ecosystems and agriculture. Local residents said there is not enough clean water to drink, let alone enough for washing and personal hygiene, forcing them to use contaminated water for their everyday needs. A staggering 56% of those interviewed report that the pollution is affecting the gynaecological and reproductive health of women and girls, resulting in irregular menstruation, urogenital infections, more frequent miscarriages and, in some cases, birth defects. More and more young girls and teenagers also appear to be affected. [...] Mining companies recognise that chronic clean water shortage is a concern for local residents and have constructed boreholes to help alleviate the problem.