Electric Car Market Driving New Era of Job Creation

Mbanza has always woken up early. As shift crew leader at the Ngongolo West Mine, he has to. After a hearty breakfast of cold ground cassava leaves, he starts the 6 mile walk through the jungle. "There are many dangers," he says to me, "but I am very small and not so healthy, so the predators they leave me alone." As he walks, Mbanza speaks of what life was like before the demand for cobalt - a vital element in the production of electric vehicles - surged. "When I was a boy," he continues "We had very little to eat and everyone lived in a small house. We had no lights or medicine. But now that I am 8 years old and working in the mine, we have very little to eat and live in a small house with no lights or medicine." Suffering from White Privilege, as I was, I found this puzzling and asked him to clarify how things had changed. "You see, we now have purpose. It is important for people in Europe and America to drive electric vehicles. We are saving the planet."

Indeed, The importance of open pit mining in the restoration of earth's balance cannot be understated, but that's not the only thing Green about African cobalt mining. As I arrive at Ngongolo with my companion, I am given a tour by one of his boys. Having made shift leader just days after his 6th birthday, Mbanza commands respect among even the veteran miners, and there are many veterans. The work is fulfilling. Many of them work here well past their 10th and 11th birthdays, despite having by that age many opportunities in soldiering.  This veteran miner is called Nkaka Ntambwe. Ntambwe means Tiger in the Lingala language, and he earned this title after being attacked on his walk to work. Having lost his legs and one eye during the attack, he is restricted only to physical labor in the mine.  As we walk through the mine, he points out all the ways the mine is saving the planet. The complete lack of safety gear worn by the miners reduces plastics and synthetic fibers entering the waste stream. Seriously, what does happen to all those hard hats when they wear out? Microplastics, that's what! So too the lack of automation and power equipment reduces fuel consumption. The lack of bathrooms and plumbing prevents human waste entering nearby water courses by leaving it right in the mine.

"We are very glad to be helping affluent westerners save the planet", Nkaka tells me. "But we would like some respirators. This would help us live a little longer and we could use that time to mine more cobalt."