Blogs
Establishing fair trading practices at artisanal cobalt mine sites
One of the Fair Cobalt Alliance’s three strategic objectives is increasing the incomes of artisanal miners and their wider community. Key to that strategy is ensuring fair value retention at the point of mineral sales.
View article
VSLAs – building peer-to-peer networks to strengthen financial resilience
VSLAs: What are they? Voluntary Savings and Loans Associations Reason for creation? Despite the increased income of artisanal miners compared to their peers in sectors such as agriculture, they are still poverty-stricken due to the mismanagement of their resources and the lack of financial education. Voluntary Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) are designed to support […]
View article
Publishing FCA Annual Report 2022
In our commitment to stay transparent about our work in the DR Congo, we are proud to publish the 2022 impact and financial report available here. Starting with a foreword (below) from the former Chairwoman of the Steering Committee, Angela Jorns and the Executive Director of the FCA, Assheton Stewart Carter, the annual report has, […]
View article
2023 – The year of critical minerals
Critical minerals – critical to what? EU and US ambitions to reach net-zero or DR Congo’s long-term prosperity; they could mean the same – but do they? With the war raging in Eastern Europe, Europe’s reliance on Russian gas is more apparent than ever as average consumers and companies face skyrocketing gas prices. This has […]
View article
Connectivity Today And My Journey To The Beginning Of The Cobalt Supply Chain
My name is Andrina Beaumond and in early November 2022, I joined the Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA) as Senior Stakeholder Engagement and Programme Manager. On my very first day in my new role, I took part in a week-long delegation visit to Kolwezi, in the DR Congo. A week that turned out to be an […]
View article
Reflecting on 2021: FCA’s Official Impact and Financial Report
As the demand for cobalt rises and our reliance on it becomes more evident, the need to ensure markets have access to reliable and responsible sources strengthens. The goal of the FCA is for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be known as one such responsible source.
View article
Save the Children and The Centre Join the Fair Cobalt Alliance to Strengthen Child Rights in the DRC’s Artisanal Cobalt Sector
Both Save the Children and The Centre are committed to improving the lives of children and will bring their expertise in child rights, business, and in particular children’s rights and child labour issues, to the FCA.
View article