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In a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” that went viral, a visiting professor from Harvard and anti-slavery activist uncovered the “horrific” cobalt mining industry in the Congo. The video has now amassed over a million views and is still growing.
The author of “Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives,” Siddharth Kara, told podcast host Joe Rogan that “clean cobalt” does not exist.
“That’s all marketing,” Kara said.
Kara informed Rogan that the level of “suffering” endured by Congolese cobalt miners was amazing.
When Rogan asked the Harvard visiting professor if there were any cobalt mines in the Congo that did not rely on “kid labor” or “slavery,” the professor said that there were none.
Kara stated, “I’ve gone to nearly every significant industrial cobalt mine in the country and I’ve never seen one.”
One reason for this is the extraordinarily high demand for cobalt: “Cobalt is present in every lithium rechargeable battery manufactured today,” he added.
Kara stated that it is difficult to conceive of a technological device that does not rely on cobalt. “Every smartphone, tablet, laptop, and, most importantly, every electric vehicle” requires the mineral.
He said, “We cannot function on a daily basis without cobalt, and three-quarters of the material comes from the Congo.” And it is mined under awful, heartbreaking, perilous conditions.
Kara stated that the majority of the world is unaware of what is happening in the Congo.
Rogan concurred: “I don’t believe people are aware of how bad it is.”
Despite acknowledged child labor difficulties in the DRC, the Biden administration just signed an agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to strengthen the green energy supply chain.
Cobalt initially gained popularity because it was utilized to maximize the charge and stability of lithium-ion batteries, as mentioned by Kara. “And it just so happens that the Congo has more cobalt than the rest of the world combined,” he continued.
As a result, the Congo, a country with over 90 million inhabitants, became the epicenter of a geopolitical struggle over precious minerals. “Before anyone knew what was happening, the Chinese government and Chinese mining companies seized control of nearly all the major mines, and the local population was displaced,” Kara explained. The Congolese are hence “under duress.”
Siddharth Kara stated that miners work for less than a $1 per day in “subhuman” conditions.
He said, “They dig in inhumane, gut-wrenching conditions for a dollar a day, feeding cobalt up the supply chain into all of the smartphones, tablets, and electric vehicles.”
Zuby encouraged to his roughly one million followers that they watch the interview.
He wrote, “This most recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast is intense.” I definitely recommend listening to it if you own a smartphone or an electric vehicle, which is everyone.
Kara stated that several, if not all, of the world’s most prominent technology and energy businesses are complicit in the humanitarian disaster.
He said, “This is the bottom of the supply chain for your iPhone, Tesla, and Samsung.”
Thomas Catenacci of Fox News contributed to this article.