
I took several classes that talked about cobalt mining in the Congo. It’s a very complicated issue. On the one hand, artisanal mining does employ a lot of workers. Too often though, by threat of death for a couple dollars a day, including children. Large mining companies are better in that regard, but that’d mean more destructive mining methods for a majority of the money to leave the continent.
Plus, I know someone in the mineral trade that has gotten specimens from the DRC. Shit that there’s like 4 examples of ever discovered, multi million dollar pieces. There are numerous paramilitary groups that roam the the country, going village by village, taking all info they can get about mining locations by threat of extermination of the whole village. He’s aquired those pieces because the family that owned them contacted him and were like “we’re not going to last long. Protect them”