Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

Artisanal and small-scale mining, abbreviated ASM, is the focus of Kara’s investigation into cobalt mining. Artisanal miners dig up ore by hand with tools like pickaxes. They are paid on piece-rate basis, meaning they get paid per kilo they dig up, rather than salaried. ASM contrasts with industrial mining, which scoops out large swaths of earth using machinery. Artisanal mining is favored for cobalt because it “can yield up to ten or fifteen times a higher grade of cobalt per ton than industrial mining can” (187). Kara describes artisanal mining practices as hazardous. He notes the lack of protective equipment and environmental controls as well as questionable labor practices, such as the use of child labor and debt bondage.

A mining concession is a license given by the government to allow mineral extraction in an allocated area. Companies pay the government for rights to mining concessions. This creates opportunity for exploitation and grift. Not all concessions are active mines; for example, beyond one open pit mine, the Fungurume 2 concession is “wilderness.” 

Debt bondage, also known as debt enslavement, is when people are forced into debt which they are then obliged to work off on behalf of their employer.