THE HUMAN COST OF COBALT

“We need help, otherwise our children might die”, Patrick Tshaibamba. He and his family moved to Quartier CDM 2,5 years ago. His children are suffering from respiratory and skin diseases related to toxcis. Congo is one of the most mineral-rich countries of Africa and the biggest supplier of cobalt worldwide. This metal is the most expensive and key component in lithium batteries used for cell phones, laptops, and electric cars. But the world’s addiction to new technologies brings a new conflict -- the contamination of water, soil, and air --poisoning the people mining the metals. An extraordinary number of people living near mining companies suffer from respiratory and skin diseases linked to toxic waste. And in some of the most shocking cases seen in medicine, babies are being born with severe birth defects.

I visited places in and around Lubumbashi, spoke with people who are directly affected by the contamination and met with professors and doctors who are leading an investigation into the impact of minerals and cobalt in Lubumbashi.

This reporting trip has been supported by the IWMF - International Women Media Foundation.

Women come back from a working day, carrying their crops in the toxic desert of Kipushi. It was formed after a mining company dumped toxic waste in 1930, killing all the vegetation. The dominant mining narrative in DRC is about conflict minerals such as cobalt and coltan. But in the region of Katanga, where 60% of the worldwide cobalt is being produced, the story that isn't getting enough attention is the extreme environmental destruction.

A scientist at the University of Lubumbashi is investigates the connection between birth defects and mining contamination.

Two premature babies at the Hospital Saint Charles Lwanga in Kipushi. "A high number of premature births is also linked to the exposure of toxics", says Tony Kayembe, scientist at the University of Lubumbashi. Kipushi is a small town with the majority of the population working in mining activities.

A young woman with her newborn baby with a cleft in the hospital of Kipushi, a traditional mining city in the south of the DRC with highly contaminated soil and water. Besides a high number of deformations like cleft and club foot, doctors are even more concerned about severe birth defects. In the hospital Hospital Saint Charles Lwanga only in March 2017 three babies with Anencephaly were counted. These babies don´t develop a brain and die immediately after being born.

Adele Masengo, 41, and her children live in Lubumbashi, Congo. She had two babies with severe birth defects and her oldest daughter became blind at the age of 12. Her husband works in an artisanal mine. “When my babies were born, they took samples of their blood and my placenta, but we never got the results.”

A digger is holding a Cobalt stone at Ndari artisinal mine, Haut Katanga. Men and children working in the artisanal mines are exposed to the toxics, including also high levels of uranium.

“Creseurs”, Diggers at an artisanal cobalt mine in Ndari, Katanga region, Congo DRC. There is a high correlation between babies born with severe deformations and their fathers working in the mines doctors and scientists confirm.

Children walk near Kipushi, a traditional mining city in the heart of Congo’s mining sector. The area has become a toxic desert after a mining company dumped toxic waste in 1930, killing all the vegetation. The dominant mining narrative in DRC is about conflict minerals such as cobalt and coltan. But in the region of Katanga, where 60% of the worldwide cobalt is being produced, the story that isn't getting enough attention is the extreme environmental destruction.

Diggers are working on the road between Lubumbashi and Kipushi. They are breaking stones, which they sell for construction. Sometimes they find a cobalt vein

Tshamilemba is a neighborhood close to the mining company Chemaf in Lubumbashi. While people are not drinking the water, they use it on their crops “Even the potatoes we are growing have a strange taste”, explains a woman living here.

Children play outside of their house in the neighborhood of Tshamilemba, which lies close to the mining company Chemaf. The water and soil in this area are highly contaminated due to the toxic waste of this company. The white salts on the house wall show evidence of the toxics in the water.

A hospital in Kipushi holds information for women regarding possible complications during pregnancy. They also inform them that ultra-sound can detect possible birth defects. But with a cost of 20$ and a montlhly average income of 60$, most of the families can´t afford this.

Benitha, 16, comes to study in the toxic desert of Kipushi. “It’s a quiet place and it helps me to concentrate”, she explains.

A dermatologist is attending a young man at the Clinic Universitaire in Lubumbashi. People living close to mining companies suffer from diverse health problems like skin and respiratory diseases.