Congo Ruashi Mine Cobalt
Project by BMW, BASF, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics for sustainable cobalt mining
The BMW Group, BASF SE, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics have launched a joint pilot project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of a cross-industry initiative. The companies have commissioned the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH to test for a period of three years how to improve working and living conditions in micro-mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project focuses on a pilot mine where cobalt is mined using non-industrial methods. The project partners will not be operators of this mine.
The focus of this purely privately funded pilot project is to test initial approaches that improve the working and living conditions of miners and surrounding communities. If the project is successful, these approaches can be transferred to other non-industrial mines in the long term.
Martin Brudermüller, CEO BASF:
"Together with BMW, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics, we are committed to sustainable cobalt mining. In the joint project in Congo, we want to understand how the living and working conditions of local people can be improved. For example, we will bring the insights from the project into the Global Battery Alliance, whose founding member we are. "
Cobalt is a key element in the production of batteries for the automotive and electronics industries. The world's largest known reserves of this resource are located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To 80 to 85% the cobalt production in the Congo is industrial, 15 to 20% of the mining is done by non-industrial methods. The biggest challenge is to ensure compliance with human rights, environmental, health and safety standards in the non-industrial mining of cobalt.
For the first time, partners from the automotive, chemical and electronics industries have come together to tackle the problems of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a specific project. The pilot project is based on a feasibility study by GIZ and the BMW Group. The project planning includes findings from on-site visits, interviews with stakeholders and surveys among miners and residents.
In the long run, the project will also help to support the goals of global initiatives to promote sustainable supply chains, such as the Global Battery Alliance (GBA).
BASF / ISE - September 2019
