A mineworker has no opportunity to negotiate price (there is only one buyer available to him) and has no option but to accept the price offered. This means that the investor in effect controls the price paid for the Cobalt. The investor obviously handsomely rewards the cooperative (read: it’s owner, not the members) for this right. The cooperative signs a deal with an investor (mostly a locally registered enterprise that serves as a go-between for the mine and the industry), who receives the exclusive right to buy all produce coming from the mine. The situation for the mineworker is further aggravated by the fact that in most cases a one-man cooperative controls the mining pit.

Allhough this also does not seem like a bad deal at first glance (where else would someone without access to money get hold of funds to start mining?), reality hits the mineworker rather hard again.įifty percent of all produce is being handed over to the middleman as compensation for the investment the value of which greatly surpasses the investment made by the middleman. They pay for their upkeep in the first phase of preparing the pit (and during production), and also provide them with tools for mining. As was explained to me, these middlemen invest in the mine worker(s). Apart from the miners themselves the middlemen ( négociants) are also members of the same cooperative.

Any artisanal miner in the particular mine has two options: either to become a member or to leave the mine. These little (or big) operators, once registered, acquire rights for certain artisanal mining areas. The reality of Congolese cooperatives, as I observed them in the Cobalt mining sector, is less laudable.Ī cooperative can be registered on the basis of a single person and this has been the standard practice (of one or often a few influential individuals). The idea of stimulating artisanal miners to group themselves is in principle a worthwhile idea. The Congolese Mining-law stipulates that to be able to work as an artisanal miner you need to be a member of a cooperative. Gecamines-owned artisanal cobalt mining site Taking into account the large families and other dependents, some 400,000 Congolese could easily be dependent on artisanal Cobalt mining, but most likely much more than that: enough reason to see whether FairPhone can contribute towards setting up a fair(er) Cobalt chain. Estimations of the number of artisanal Cobalt miners in Katanga vary between 50,000 and 100,000. Even though Cobalt is not one of the “conflict-minerals” singled out by the international community (the Cobalt production areas in Katanga are – at the moment – rebel, and therefore conflict-free), it does not mean that production is fair.Ī large part of the mining is done by hand (artisanal mining) in mines 30 meters under ground. Most of the world’s Cobalt originates in Africa, half of which from the mineral-rich province of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It can be used as a backup or client to any other Cobalt-family controller up to the capacity of the console.Editor’s Note: FairPhone asked Christian Kuijstermans from ActionAid Netherlands to write about his recent investigation into Cobalt minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Ĭobalt is one of many minerals in a mobile phone mainly found in its batteries. Congo Kid powered by Cobalt controls 256 or 512 devices (dimmers, LEDs, moving lights or media servers) on two universes of output (1,024 parameters). The console supports up to two external DVI monitors that can be single- or multi-touch. The Congo kid has the power of a top of the range desk but with a much smaller price tag. Available to hire from T&M, the Congo kid is the ideal desk for smaller shows where a little more power is required, enabling greater control of moving heads and LED fixtures.

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