In North Kivu’s mineral-rich hills, farmers forced from their land by conflict have swapped their shovels for pickaxes, enduring long days mining cobalt—the ‘blue gold’ that fuels the global green transition and powers Western electric vehicles.
The video report, filmed in Lubero, captures miners crushing cobalt ore by hand, washing rocks in shallow pits, and carrying heavy loads beneath the scorching sun. Among them is Josephine Mamba, a former farmer who turned to mining after escalating rebel activity made agriculture too dangerous. “We have no other occupations apart from the mining site,” she says. “Going to the fields currently puts our lives at risk because of the ADF rebels.”
Local mining leaders, however, argue that the country’s vast reserves could help rebuild vital infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and schools, despite the looming insecurity in the region as the war intensifies, displacing communities and deepening instability.
The DRC supplies more than 70 percent of the world’s cobalt, yet its extraction remains fraught with human and ethical challenges. This video offers a rare glimpse into the lives of those at the core of a global industry—where the promise of progress meets the struggle for survival.
View the full video report below;
[This current affairs report item is provided as part of Broadcast Media Africa (BMA)’s mandate to keep Africa’s broadcast media audiences and stakeholders informed on international developments in local and global humanitarian and public service broadcasting.]
