Kinshasa, DR Congo
On Tuesday, March 10, the NGO EIA warned of the emergence of “serious illnesses” near mining sites operated in the DRC by the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral essential for the construction of electric cars
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces more than 70% of the world’s cobalt, a metal essential for manufacturing batteries used in electronics and electric vehicles.
According to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), nearly half of this cobalt is produced by Chinese giant CMOC, which operates two of the world’s largest copper-cobalt mines in the DRC, Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu, located in the southeast of the country.
In order to meet international demand, “CMOC has built one of the largest copper and cobalt processing complexes in Africa” near the Fungurume mine, a mining town located in the province of Lualaba (southeast), continues the EIA.
This “gigantic” facility, capable of processing “30,000 tons of ore” per day, is called the “30k plant.”
In 2023 and 2024, surrounding communities “raised the alarm about serious health problems, including severe nosebleeds, coughing up blood,” and problems during pregnancy, “which they attribute to the activities of the new CMOC processing plant,” according to the EIA.
The investigation conducted over “more than three years” by the EIA “reveals a serious public health crisis” and “air pollution spanning several years and affecting dozens of families and workers,” the NGO said.
“The increase in CMOC’s copper-cobalt processing capacity at the Tenke Fungurume mine, and in particular the operation of the 30k plant, appears to be at the heart of the public health crisis,” it adds.
Independent measurements have revealed levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2), a toxic gas produced during copper ore processing, that are “well above standards” in the vicinity of the CMOC site, according to the EIA.
The gas “appeared to have particularly severe effects on children and pregnant women,” the EIA notes.
A mother living in Manomapia, quoted in the report, blames toxic gases for the death of her child.
“One evening, he started vomiting blood. He vomited more than three times, then he died,” said the mother. “The doctor told us that the baby’s lungs had been attacked by acidic particles.”
A Congolese environmental activist who visited the Manomapia neighborhood near the 30k factory told the EIA that he had “a bitter taste in his mouth and a feeling of suffocation in his chest.”
The NGO states that CMOC, through its subsidiary Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), “has denied allegations of environmental pollution, their negative impact on the population, and any link to its activities.”
Humaniterre with AFP
