• Login
NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
  • Home
  • News
    • General
    • Political
  • Economy
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Aviation
    • Banking & Finance
    • Energy
    • Insurance
    • Manufacturing
    • Markets
    • Maritime
    • Real Estate
    • Tourism
    • Transport
  • Technology
    • Telecom
    • Cyber-security
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Tech-guide
    • Social Media
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
  • Reports
    • Banking/Finance
    • Insurance
    • Budgets
    • GDP
    • Inflation
    • Central Bank
    • Sec/Gse
  • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Travel
    • Environment
    • Weather
  • NRTV
    • Audio
    • Video
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
No Result
View All Result
Home highlights

Researchers link cobalt mining in the DRC to violence, substance abuse, food-water insecurity

4 years ago
in highlights, Home, home-news, latest News, Mining
2 min read
0 0
0
83
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

Researchers link cobalt mining in the DRC to violence, substance abuse, food-water insecurity

After studying the impacts of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Northwestern University is calling for more data on how emerging technologies affect human health and livelihoods.

Congo is the world’s top producer of cobalt, which is used in many of the batteries that power electric vehicles. EV sales are expected to soar in the coming years, as countries strive to cut carbon emissions.

In a paper published in the journal One Earth, the group behind the new study explains that exploratory fieldwork in cobalt mining communities in the Lualaba Province was conducted to be able to construct social life cycle assessments (S-LCA).

The team comprised of anthropologists, engineers and public health experts collected qualitative data through in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions with miners and other community members.

“For this type of work, it’s important to work across fields in order to be informed,” Sera Young, one of the study co-authors, said in a media statement. “It might be difficult for engineers who are developing the technologies to understand the social effects. By working together, we can form a whole picture of the consequences of resource extraction.”

After such exploratory work, the researchers found that cobalt mining was associated with increases in violence, substance abuse, food and water insecurity, and physical and mental health challenges.

RelatedPosts

Parliament Adjourns Sine Die After Intense Legislative Session Marked by Reform Calls and Tributes

GACL Terminates Evatex Revenue Assurance Contract Amid OSP Probe

Cyber Security Authority Flags Rising Mobile Data Scam, Cautions Public

Community members reported losing communal land, farmland and homes, which miners dug up in order to extract cobalt. Without farmland, Congolese people were sometimes forced to cross international borders into Zambia just to purchase food.

Read This: These are the major trends to expect across African markets in 2022

Researchers link cobalt mining in the DRC to violence, substance abuse, food-water insecurity
A recently dug artisanal mining hole in Musonoyi. (Image courtesy of Northwestern University).

“You might think of mining as just digging something up,” Young said. “But they are not digging on vacant land. Homelands are dug up. People are literally digging holes in their living room floors. The repercussions of mining can touch almost every aspect of life.”

Young also pointed out that waste generated from mining cobalt and other metals can pollute water, air and soil, leading to decreased crop yields, contaminated food and water, and respiratory and reproductive health issues.

In fact, the miners that participated in the study reported that working conditions were unsafe, unfair and stressful. Several workers noted that they feared mineshaft collapses.

Young said that as industry leaders move toward decarbonization to slow, stop or even reverse human-caused climate change, technologies are increasingly relying on batteries instead of fossil fuels but data related to the effects of these technologies on social well-being are needed.

“If we’re trying to be do-gooders by caring for the environment, then the environment shouldn’t be limited to only the natural environment — but also the human environment,” the scientist said.

For her and her colleagues, collecting good quality data for social impact assessments, thus, requires leveraging reliable sources that can help understand localized effects of mining.

In their view, those sources are: (1) interviews and focus groups of affected community members; (2) local public records, including land-related court claims, documentation of forced migration and publicly available health records; (3) cross-culturally validated scales, including data collected by national statistics agencies and organizations such as UNICEF and the World Bank; (4) data collected for the Sustainable Development Goals; and (5) remote sensing and imagery, including satellite imagery showing how farmland has changed after cobalt mining is established.

The researchers believe such methods can be applied to other scenarios beyond cobalt mining to gather social data surrounding emerging technologies.

Source: mining.com
Via: norvanreports
Tags: food-water insecurityResearchers link cobalt mining in the DRC to violencesubstance abuse
No Result
View All Result

Highlights

Gov’t Reopens Talks With PayPal to Restore Full Service Access in Ghana

Financial Sector Assets up 34.6% in 2024 to GHS 525.59 Billion

Banking Sector Soundness Remains Robust in 2024 Amid Strong Profitability, Adequate Capital Buffers

Sha’Carri Richardson Withdraws from US Trials Following Arrest

From Singuluma to El Kaabi: Can CHAN 2024 Unleash the Next Hat-trick Hero?

Ghana to Welcome King’s Baton Relay on August 8 Ahead of 2026 Commonwealth Games

Trending

Features

Parliament Adjourns Sine Die After Intense Legislative Session Marked by Reform Calls and Tributes

August 2, 2025

Parliament Adjourns Sine Die After Intense Legislative Session Marked by Reform Calls and Tributes Parliament has adjourned...

GACL Terminates Evatex Revenue Assurance Contract Amid OSP Probe

August 2, 2025

Cyber Security Authority Flags Rising Mobile Data Scam, Cautions Public

August 2, 2025

Gov’t Reopens Talks With PayPal to Restore Full Service Access in Ghana

August 2, 2025
Bank of Ghana

Financial Sector Assets up 34.6% in 2024 to GHS 525.59 Billion

August 2, 2025

Who we are?

NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World

NorvanReports is a unique data, business, and financial portal aimed at providing accurate, impartial reporting of business news on Ghana, Africa, and around the world from a truly independent reporting and analysis point of view.

© 2020 Norvanreports – credible news platform.
L: Hse #4 3rd Okle Link, Baatsonaa – Accra-Ghana T:+233-(0)26 451 1013 E: news@norvanreports.com info@norvanreports.com
All rights reserved we display professionalism at all stages of publications

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Aviation
    • Energy
    • Insurance
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate
    • Maritime
    • Tourism
    • Transport
    • Banking & Finance
    • Trade
    • Markets
  • Economy
  • Reports
  • Technology
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Cyber-security
    • Social Media
    • Tech-guide
    • Telecom
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Travel
    • Environment
    • Weather
  • NRTV
    • Audio
    • Video

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
NORVANREPORTS.COM | Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.