Partnership for responsible cobalt sourcing

The project will focus on artisanally mined cobalt. Cobalt is one of the key materials used in batteries for multiple applications, including smartphones (lithium-ion batteries) and lighting products. The project partners are FairPhone, Huayou, Signify, and The Impact Facility.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) risks that this project aims to address are:

1. Health and safety at work: very poor working conditions of artisanal miners at both (Kamilombe and Kasulu) Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sites, which are (mainly) the result of the informality with which ASM mining has evolved in the DR Congo.
2. Discrimination and gender: women working at ASM sites have no access to safety equipment and are commonly restricted to low-skilled activities, such as washing ore and as such earning the least, as well as working under hazardous conditions.
3. Market distortion and competition: dominant sense by the ASM miners of dishonest and non-transparent trading terms of cobalt traders due to
   a) an asymmetry to access to information and
   b) a lack of clear mechanisms to communicate effectively between cooperative and miners.

The project therefore aims to

1. show demand for fairly sourced ASM cobalt by integrating it in the supply chains of the project partners FairPhone, Huayou and Signify and
2. by mobilizing the industry to follow this example, acknowledging the need to invest in and accept fair ASM cobalt in their supply chains.

The project will therefore actively coordinate and align with industry and other key stakeholder initiatives and efforts in the cobalt (battery) industry.