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The Blood Batteries report by the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab exposes the human rights and environmental devastation caused by cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Cobalt, critical for smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles, is overwhelmingly mined in the DRC, where around 300,000 artisanal miners work in life-threatening conditions. Surveys of 1,431 miners show widespread forced labour (36.8%), child labour (9.2%), debt bondage, and trafficking. Daily earnings average just $3.28, with women earning half that. Nearly 90 percent mine solely to survive, often beginning as children, while enduring abuse, toxic exposure, and fatal tunnel collapses.
Geospatial analysis shows massive deforestation, loss of farmland, and water contamination around Kolwezi, while water tests revealed heavy metal levels up to 930 times World Health Organization limits. Communities drinking from these sources suffer chronic illness and birth defects.
The study shows artisanal cobalt routinely enters the formal supply chains of major mining companies, making “clean” sourcing claims by tech and EV giants misleading. It highlights a destructive feedback loop where poverty and environmental damage force families to withdraw children from school into mining.
The report calls for technology companies, EV manufacturers, and governments to accept real responsibility for cobalt supply chains by enforcing labour standards, protecting communities, investing in remediation, and ensuring fair livelihoods for miners. Without urgent action, the global green transition risks being built on systemic exploitation and environmental collapse.
