#February 2024: Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara
vagrant halo
delicate marsh
Cobalt Red with Siddhartha Kara https://youtu.be/ff_qrTyjr1o?si=PyaI_TGJGwC-EIHO
vagrant halo
Book club! We will be meeting on Feb 11 and 25. I will make the events shortly.
vagrant halo
The events are up!
As you read, I suggest having a look at the mines on Google Earth to understand the scale
solar lark
Just found out his book got published in Spanish just a few days ago, so that's more people I can make it reach to 
merry birch
DRC: more than 14,000 children removed from cobalt mines and reintegrated into society in 5 years
merry birch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg11uVy6noA This video periodically goes viral in DRC, showing miners escaping from a collapsing mine shaft. Fortunately for all involved, it appears to have a happy ending... but as we know from this book that isn't always the case
merry birch
Protests at Tenke-Fungurme in the last few days have left at least two dead and a dozen injured, according to local reporting:
https://twitter.com/ambadrien/status/1753359568061526405#m
https://twitter.com/MichaelTshi/status/1753457463104328070#m (t/w military firing on protesters)
https://7sur7.cd/2024/02/02/lualaba-2-morts-dans-des-affrontements-entre-policiers-et-creuseurs-artisanaux-fungurume
the stated reason for the protests is a recent TFM crackdown on artisanally mined cobalt being sold offsite
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vagrant halo
Protests at Tenke-Fungurme in the last few days have left at least two dead and ...
I was watching these and I was like, "is that a gigantic paved road in good repair?"
vagrant halo
I have been listening to this on audiobook, because I have some eye strain going on and I'm trying to not make it worse. It's working out because I was pronouncing a ton of things wrong and now I'm learning better
summer owl
I'm planning to listen to the audiobook also. I'm still kinda new to audiobooks ut it's been nice getting I to it
torn sierra
Good video on how lithium-ion batteries work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5McJw4KkG8
merry birch
A 30 y/o miner named Franck Lubala dies in a tunnel collapse in Ruashi Mine: https://actualite.cd/2024/02/11/kolwezi-mort-dun-jeune-homme-dans-une-mine-souterraine-de-lentreprise-rwashi-mining
Some highlights from the article:
"Managers at Rwashi Mining offered no help to the trapped miner"
"At least a dozen miners have died in tunnel collapses in Rwashi in the past year"
"We work without adequate equipment, protective gear, or good salaries. I have worked here for several years and never signed a work contract. The Chinese run off miners how and when they want to"
"Ruashi miners burned tires to show their anger with their exploitation"
"Three other miners that survived the tunnel collapse were in critical condition. They were being treated at the Methodist Hospital in Manika Commune"
vagrant halo
What a nightmare
vagrant halo
The reporting on Tilwezembe gave me nightmares the first time I read this book
merry birch
Here's an article that summarizes the book I mentioned about how Western attempts to address the harm caused by conflict mineral extraction in eastern DRC ignored most of the underlying problems and made life more difficult for the artisanal miners. Not exactly the same situation as in Katanga, but there are some interesting parallels that might be worth discussing at our next meeting: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-problem-with-conflict-minerals/
And an article on ITSCI, an effort to guarantee clean supply chains for the 3Ts and Coltan in eastern DRC. They mention PACT! But mostly talk about how that effort has also been a huge failure: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/natural-resource-governance/itsci-laundromat/
pale bough
As you read, I suggest having a look at the mines on Google Earth to understand ...
It happened a year ago rt?
vagrant halo
It happened a year ago rt?
Which event in particular?
vagrant halo
I'm not sure
For up to date news we use #1123414680212340910 , I was just seeing what the author had on Twitter that would be illustrative
merry birch
It happened a year ago rt?
I think he released the video about a year ago in advance of the book publication. But the video itself is much older, I don't remember exactly what dates he visited Shabara mine but I would imagine sometime between 2018 and 2021, since that's when most of his field research occurred! Good call to clarify, thx
torn sierra
video that shows a lot of what the book covers. The tunnels look even sketchier than I imagined
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V3bIzNX4co
merry birch
A cowboy hat for every mood https://photos.radiookapi.net/picture/20230914120522479132_IMG-20230914-WA0040.jpg?imgmax=500
merry birch
Protests (and a hint of violent repression there at the end) at Sambwe Mining in Sakania (Haut Katanga) after the company refused to pay employees the promised severence fee when they terminated their contracts early: https://www.facebook.com/diaspora.katangaise/posts/pfbid0wTaDsDyXXFKv43MBmQNh8XYvFxyWdUZKQhjj3gKF224VS1cymFfJcyFLBC4JNfynl?__cft__[0]=AZX-Egm1r8hwl3Qyehq9xvz2KA31dzSuilohnHqvGygWG9eVV1RcxBF67Uj88eiawVsUJHFNdVO1d5_pWGnA1okC8H1SxWc5LKjbOUVXMKwARZPAglTxcIswBVd5QHb4I3itk6-L6F9QrDsxSkcQqkS0XEIK5Va2RHz6vvwZACJ-Fw&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.facebook.com/groups/966401823734131/?multi_permalinks=2094644970909805&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&__cft__[0]=AZWYBJiV_o4E75qlFHMjkVLnYRlso8P1S-rjay_kkwfZQFKwHUAIT0JC_2sx_3fXaYj0WzGLQ2xoK57MeydpNcN_DE-9uNRNFF9-UFGNCKYtxyAYMs8ueKv_S5ajAPR0nJ4JGrDq582BQWF5ZaMzpeLIxeKmjjxMOf4s2rNESutdtomqAUAKPVS2FkYitSYe_TU&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
merry birch
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