Artisanal copper and cobalt mining in Lualaba
At a webinar on a new IPIS study on artisanal copper and cobalt mining in Lualaba, Resource Matters took stock of what a decade of efforts to formalise the sector has actually changed. Despite years of initiatives focused largely on “responsible cobalt”, dangerous working conditions, a lack of viable legal mining areas, unfair purchasing practices and weak traceability remain widespread.
Meanwhile, miners have increasingly shifted back to copper as market conditions changed—a good reminder of the limits of due diligence driven by international attention to one particular mineral rather than by the risks miners actually face.
Resource Matters argued that the next decade should focus less on changing miners’ behaviour and more on shifting the balance of power: giving miners stronger rights and bargaining power, while demanding much greater transparency and accountability from those who control access to land and markets, particularly state actors, cooperatives and processing entities.