This contamination is easily spread to humans through the consumption of fish or drinking of the lake’s water. This is a similar story across the cobalt regions of Congo.Ī study that collected fish from Tshangalale lake, which is adjacent to mining towns, found that the fish were contaminated with prominent levels of cobalt. “In this stream, the fish vanished long ago, killed by acids and waste from the mines,” says Congo resident Heritier Maloba, staring into the murky waters of his childhood fishing hole. High concentrations of cobalt have even been linked to the death of crops and worms, which are vital for soil fertility. The Environmental Impacts of Cobalt Mining in CongoĬobalt is fast turning from a miracle metal to a deadly chemical as toxic dumping is devastating landscapes, polluting water, and contaminating crops. However, i t has been estimated that millions of trees have been clear-cut by giant mining companies, and satellite imagery illustrates a barren wasteland in areas of once thriving biodiversity. It is difficult to establish just how large of an area of the Congo Basin has been deforested to make way for cobalt mines since the country’s richness in other natural resources contributes to the forest loss. Of the world’s three remaining largest tropical rainforests, only the Congo has enough standing forest left to remain a strong net carbon sink, both the Amazon and Southeast Asian rainforests now emit more carbon than they sequester. As such, mines – both legal and illegal – have been appearing all over the nation, and threatening the pristine tropical rainforest.īecause of its size and diversity, scientific experts have characterised the Congo Basin’s Forest as a critical player in mitigating climate change because of its role to act as a carbon sink. In 2021, the market grew by 22% and is expected to rise by 13% per year for at least the next five years. With the electrification of the global energy system gathering momentum year after year, demand for cobalt has seen unprecedented growth. Yet it is cobalt that the nation is famed for since it possesses over half of the world’s cobalt reserves, at some four million tons as of 2022, and currently accounts for around 70% of global production. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa’s second-largest country, is endowed with an exceptional array of natural resources, from coffee, diamonds, and timber, to its famed biodiversity-rich Congo Basin – the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest. This article explores the environmental impacts of cobalt mining in Congo. As demand for cobalt has skyrocketed over the last few decades, it is Congo, home to most of Earth’s cobalt reserves, which has bore the brunt. From your smartphone in your pocket to the battery of the electric car you drive, or as a superalloy in the aircraft engine that whisked you to paradise – it is a critical component of modern life since the metal protects batteries from overheating, catching fire, and extends their lifespan. Earth.Org is powered by over 150 contributing writersĬobalt is ubiquitous.
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