"Cobalt mining for green energy risks women’s reproductive health in DRC" 18 November 2024

…The sun blazes intensely while we’re reporting on Monday, July 22, 2024. We take a winding path that runs along the long concrete wall surrounding the huge open-air copper mine owned by the company COMMUS (Compagnie Minière de Musonoïe), a subsidiary of Zijin Mining, a multinational mining company headquartered in China. …

Julie Nshinda has witnessed many cases of sexually transmitted infections and, more seriously, congenital malformations in babies and miscarriages. During our visit to her center, she shows us images of a baby with internal organs protruding from their belly. Her medical center receives five to 10 women per month with reproductive health complaints, she tells Mongabay.

A week after our visit, Nshinda reported (with photographic evidence) the birth of a baby with their brain protruding from their forehead. Witnessing these shocking stories and events, especially for couples and mothers, Nshimba decided to speak out against the pollution, which she says originates from COMMUS’s mine.

“I see a lot of cases of threatened miscarriages and premature births. Sometimes, a pregnant woman arrives, complaining of abdominal pain. When I do an examination, I can see that the fetus is already dead and starting to decompose. There are also cases of genital infections. Here, for example, I have this young woman lying on the bed, bleeding profusely,” says Nshinda.

We contacted COMMUS and Zijin Mining for their response to pollution accusations and the mine’s proximity to the homes. Neither company had responded by the time of publication.

In their report titled “Environmental impact of mining in the DRC,” published in March 2024, the U.K.and DRC NGOs RAID and AFREWATCH, which specialize in natural resources, say that “the scientific community is still unclear about the extent to which frequent contact with water contaminated with copper and cobalt mining waste, sulfuric acid and heavy metals specifically affect women’s health.”

However, they state that it’s well known that poor hygiene practices, due to the lack of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities, put women and girls at risk of infections, as well as other gynecological and reproductive diseases.

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…[T]he presence of uranium generates radon, a chemical element, upstream of this decay chain, which is also harmful if inhaled in large quantities, according to the French expert. …

However, the risk is particularly high in artisanal mining, where long-term exposure is compounded by factors such as dust, poor ventilation, and lack of protective equipment. Some artisanal workers even work topless.The women we met in Kapata, who clean the ores or frequently sit on sacks of ore they purchase, report experiencing tickling sensations in their genital areas.

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Peter Kalenga, an official with the Luabala provincial mining agency, says he’s aware of Musonoie residents’ complaints and that his department is investigating the issue.

“We are taking these complaints very seriously,” Kalenga tells Mongabay. “We have received other complaints from people on Yohwe and Mai-Ndombe avenues in Musonoie, regarding structural cracks and their houses sinking. This is on top of the air pollution caused by the elevation of the COMMUS embankment.

However, according to NGO members, the problem lies in the application and monitoring of the mining regulations. Some civil society sources suggest that regulatory officials are often prevented from doing their work or are corrupted.

…In the COMMUS case, Gécamines is the minority (28%) shareholder, while Zijin Mining Group Ltd. holds the majority stake (72%). According to Zijin Mining, the mine produced 129,000 metric tons of copper and cobalt in 2023, using “China’s advanced approach to ecological preservation, receiving widespread praise from the DRC government and local communities.”

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Some stakeholders recognize the risks involved around mining sites, particularly for women. In Kolwezi, the Mining Cooperative for Social Development (CMDS), which oversees more than 6,000 artisanal miners at the Kamilombe site some 10 km (6 mi) from the city, provides women with personal protective equipment. The program is supported by the Fair Cobalt Alliance, says Marie Kulemba Samba, the social department manager at CMDS. Fair Cobalt Alliance is an initiative founded by Fairphone, Signify, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and The Impact Facility with the aim, among other things, of promoting responsible cobalt production.