According to foreign media reports, BMW Group, BASF SE, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics announced that they have launched a joint cobalt pilot project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, As part of a cross-industry initiative. Moreover, the above companies have signed a contract to work with the German Technical Cooperation Organization (GIZ) to improve the working conditions of artisanal mining and the living conditions of communities around the mining area.
The project lasted three years and was responsible for a pilot mine, but the partners did not operate the mine. The project is fully privately funded and aims to address the challenges faced by artisanal mining, seeking to identify viable solutions to improve mine working conditions. If the measures are effective, they will be extended to other artisanal mines to ensure the sustainable development of cobalt mining.
Cobalt is a key component of battery production in the automotive and electronics industries. The largest reserve of this raw material comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to a study published earlier this year in Nature Sustainability, half of the world's cobalt production comes from the Katanga Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This is the first time that partners in the automotive, chemical and consumer electronics industries have come together to meet the challenges of the artisanal mining industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project also helps achieve the goals of global initiatives such as the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) to promote sustainable development of the raw material supply chain.