Meet the team
Our multidisciplinary team combines experience and expertise gained from working in the DRC mining sector, transforming ASM practices across East Africa and South America and setting up and facilitating programmes for local community development.
The Team
Assheton Stewart Carter PhD
Strategic Advisor
“When you trust people to do the right thing, and you give them the means to do it, the results can be astonishing. We are beginning now, even in these early days of the FCA, to see those results and there is nothing more uplifting to know that we played a small part in these successes.”
David Sturmes
Corporate Engagement and Strategic Partnerships
“Cobalt is key to enabling a speedy transition to a green, post-carbon economy. The DRC’s unparalleled cobalt endowments should serve as a catalyst for local development. By investing in the professionalisation of artisanal mining and creating dignified employment opportunities throughout local mining communities, we can help turn this mineral wealth into lasting prosperity. To make this happen, we need to dare to be part of the solution.”
Freddy Mwamba
Lead for Health and Safety
“I joined the FCA team to bring my know-how and experience acquired in the industrial sector to help clean up the artisanal mining environment. In collaboration with our partners and artisanal miners, we are improving working conditions, identifying hazards and managing risks with the goal of reaching zero accidents within our cooperatives.”
Yves Kasongo
Lead for ASM Engagement
“Working with artisanal miners is my passion. At roughly 20% of production, artisanal mining is a key economic resource of DR Congo, however, without proper risk management disaster the consequences could be dire. As experts in the sector, we are happy to provide technical guidance on how to avoid mining accidents such as landslides, rockfall and subsidence. With the Fair Cobalt Alliance, the formalisation of artisanal mining is guaranteed.”
Alexandra A Lukamba
Government, Public Relations and Communications Officer
“The ASM sector is often seen in a negative light, but at the FCA we are looking at improving the working conditions of the women washers and creuseurs who make their living from the cobalt sector. But it is also important to work with the government and all stakeholders to have a common vision. With a background in conflict management, public relations and communication, I contribute to the FCA’s public relations in the DRC.”
Candice Jumwa
Business Innovation and Fundraising Officer
“Artisanal cobalt producers contribute over 7% of the cobalt production in the world, almost a billion dollars in value with minimal resources and expertise. Imagine what would happen if actors across the cobalt supply chain invested and supported in mine improvement, decent working conditions and facilitated fair trading practices? Responsibly mined artisanal cobalt would easily flow into formal supply chains, and the economic potential of mining communities would be realised. The FCA aims to facilitate this, and I am excited to be part of the team.”
Antoine Kasongo
DRC Country Director
“Drawing on the experience I have accumulated in previous work, I want to strengthen the future of artisanal mining in Congo for economic justice in the cobalt supply chain by working to improve working conditions in artisanal mining sites, through hygiene & sanitation, as well as safety, remediation of child labour so that the workers in the sector benefit more from their work”.
Guest Authors
We’re very happy to invite guest authors to write on the Fair Cobalt Alliance website.
Assheton Stewart Carter PhD
Strategic Advisor
“When you trust people to do the right thing, and you give them the means to do it, the results can be astonishing. We are beginning now, even in these early days of the FCA, to see those results and there is nothing more uplifting to know that we played a small part in these successes.”
David Sturmes
Corporate Engagement and Strategic Partnerships
“Cobalt is key to enabling a speedy transition to a green, post-carbon economy. The DRC’s unparalleled cobalt endowments should serve as a catalyst for local development. By investing in the professionalisation of artisanal mining and creating dignified employment opportunities throughout local mining communities, we can help turn this mineral wealth into lasting prosperity. To make this happen, we need to dare to be part of the solution.”
Freddy Mwamba
Lead for Health and Safety
“I joined the FCA team to bring my know-how and experience acquired in the industrial sector to help clean up the artisanal mining environment. In collaboration with our partners and artisanal miners, we are improving working conditions, identifying hazards and managing risks with the goal of reaching zero accidents within our cooperatives.”
Yves Kasongo
Lead for ASM Engagement
“Working with artisanal miners is my passion. At roughly 20% of production, artisanal mining is a key economic resource of DR Congo, however, without proper risk management disaster the consequences could be dire. As experts in the sector, we are happy to provide technical guidance on how to avoid mining accidents such as landslides, rockfall and subsidence. With the Fair Cobalt Alliance, the formalisation of artisanal mining is guaranteed.”
Alexandra A Lukamba
Government, Public Relations and Communications Officer
“The ASM sector is often seen in a negative light, but at the FCA we are looking at improving the working conditions of the women washers and creuseurs who make their living from the cobalt sector. But it is also important to work with the government and all stakeholders to have a common vision. With a background in conflict management, public relations and communication, I contribute to the FCA’s public relations in the DRC.”
Candice Jumwa
Business Innovation and Fundraising Officer
“Artisanal cobalt producers contribute over 7% of the cobalt production in the world, almost a billion dollars in value with minimal resources and expertise. Imagine what would happen if actors across the cobalt supply chain invested and supported in mine improvement, decent working conditions and facilitated fair trading practices? Responsibly mined artisanal cobalt would easily flow into formal supply chains, and the economic potential of mining communities would be realised. The FCA aims to facilitate this, and I am excited to be part of the team.”
Antoine Kasongo
DRC Country Director
“Drawing on the experience I have accumulated in previous work, I want to strengthen the future of artisanal mining in Congo for economic justice in the cobalt supply chain by working to improve working conditions in artisanal mining sites, through hygiene & sanitation, as well as safety, remediation of child labour so that the workers in the sector benefit more from their work”.
Guest Authors
We’re very happy to invite guest authors to write on the Fair Cobalt Alliance website.
To achieve lasting impact and avoid a duplication of effort on the ground, we are working with a network of organizations and individuals that share our belief that change is possible and that collaboration is needed to get there.
At Glencore, we recognise that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a vital source of employment and income generation in countries like the DRC. We believe ASM can co-exist alongside large-scale mining when carried out responsibly and transparently.
Through our membership of the FCA, we are investing to address the poverty that is the underlying cause of so many of the challenges associated with ASM. What’s more, we will support legitimate ASM cooperatives in their endeavours to transform their practices and align with international human rights practices, especially in the prevention of child labour.
Head Cobalt Trader, Glencore and Chairman of the Cobalt Institute