The Fair Cobalt Alliance
Our Purpose
A multi-stakeholder action platform, the Fair Cobalt Alliance offers actors across the cobalt supply chain a pre-competitive environment for collaboration to help strengthen and professionalise DRC’s artisanal cobalt mining sector and contribute to local economic development at large.
A Disconnected Source
The demand for cobalt is increasing as its use in batteries and everyday technology grows. Most of the world’s supply of this highly sought-after mineral is produced in the Congolese province of Lualaba, and a significant proportion of that originates from artisanal mines. For communities in the region, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is one of very few easily accessible sources of employment.
ASM provides a livelihood for thousands in a country where many people have no job at all, yet it is associated with highly hazardous working conditions, systemic child labour, and unfair trading practices taking advantage of local workers selling to traders on the open market.
As it stands, most artisanal miners lack the means and expertise to adopt safer mining practices. While cobalt is heralded as a key ingredient in our global transition to a green economy, it is questionable whether the benefits it generates are being fairly distributed and reaching the communities who take the greatest risks in excavating it at its source.
Latest News
We have been blogging our activities and news since our conception in mid-2020. To keep you up to date with our progress, we have arranged our blogs by the date they were posted. We hope you enjoy reading our latest news and insights below.
Webinar by FCA and The Hub on Human Rights Due Diligence and Tackling Child Labour in ASM Copper-Cobalt in September 18,2024
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is Africa’s largest mining producer and supplies over 70% of the world’s cobalt. Minerals like copper and cobalt play a crucial role in the energy transition, with demand for these minerals expected to double in the next ten years. However, it is crucial that this transition protects the […]
View article2023 Annual Report
Reflecting on 2023: FCA’s Official Impact and Financial Report By Camila Gomez Wills, Program Manager: Business and Human Rights, Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability at Tesla and Chairperson of the Steering Committee The Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA) remains steadfast in its commitment to nurturing a responsible and equitable artisanal cobalt sector in the Democratic Republic of […]
View articleFCA Quarterly – Q4 2023
Achieving tangible impact in artisanal cobalt mining communities The Fair Cobalt Alliance’s strategic approach to achieving its objectives and tangible impact in artisanal cobalt mining communities comprises five different workstreams geared towards improving the ground conditions of artisanal miners. In this section, we highlight our team’s activities in realising our goals, separated into these five […]
View articleThe Hub: A Child Labour Prevention and Remediation Network Creating Long-term Impact in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
This is a guest blog authored by Ellen Schliebitz, Vice-President of Communications at The Centre for Child Rights & Business, a civil society member of the FCA and one of the implementing partners of the child labour remediation hub (The Hub). Child labour is a pressing issue in and around informal mining communities in […]
View articleIntroducing Cobalt Credits: Responsible sourcing starts with taking responsibility
This is a guest blog authored by Angela Jorns, the Fair Materials & Mining Lead at Fairphone, and David Sturmes, Fundraising & Business Development Director at The Impact Facility. Fairphone is a Dutch social enterprise that, by making a smartphone and other electronics, is building a movement for fairer electronics, seeking to open up the […]
View articleEmpowering Women in Cobalt Mining: A Path to Eliminating Child labour in Lualaba, DR Congo
Gloria’s story, as recounted by IMPACT, sheds light on the daunting challenges faced by women in the cobalt-rich region of Lualaba, DR Congo. These women are confronted with an agonizing choice – to confront hunger or turn to cobalt mining – what the downstream refers to as artisanal mining. This dilemma uncovers deep-rooted gender inequalities […]
View articleProud members of the FCA
Our Objectives
The FCA drives the development of fair cobalt by supporting the professionalisation of ASM site management, ensuring uptake of responsible mining practices and channelling financial investment into mine improvements. The goal is to make mines safer, minimising environmental impact and creating dignified working conditions for men and women working at the mines.
The occurrence of child labour in mining is a symptom of widespread poverty in the region and is not exclusive to the mining sector. In order to remediate and mitigate child labour in and around ASM sites and throughout local communities, we are working with local cooperatives and civil society to build a scalable child labour referral system to assist mine site operators in establishing effective controls and monitoring mechanisms.
Rather than simply banning children from mine sites, we seek to enable children identified at mines to attend school, benefit from vocational training and access job opportunities for local youth.
We set out to address the root causes that perpetuate high risks associated with artisanal mining: widespread poverty. The need to make a living drives many miners to accept poor working conditions at artisanal mines, often including children that need to contribute to their families’ incomes by working in and around the mine.
In an effort to support the ASM community transition into sustainable livelihoods, we promote investment in programmes outside mining and into opportunities designed to create sustainable livelihoods for as many community members as possible.
Any organisation operating as part of — or associated with — the global cobalt supply chain should consider how it might best contribute to a solution. By taking a holistic approach, incorporating every stage of the supply chain, we can identify root causes and construct effective solutions to address the issues upstream.