By Todd C. Frankel / The Washington Post
Apple said it has temporarily stopped buying cobalt mined by hand in Congo after a recent investigation by British broadcaster Sky News, which found continuing problems with child labor and harsh work conditions.
The change comes several months after Apple said it planned to keep buying so-called “artisanal” cobalt from Congo while it worked to address the problems.
Cobalt is essential for the lithium-ion batteries found in laptops and smartphones, such as the iPhone. Sixty percent of the world’s cobalt supply comes from Congo.
A Washington Post investigation last year detailed abuses in Congo’s artisanal cobalt supply chain, showing how miners — including children — labored in hazardous, even deadly, conditions. Amnesty International and other human rights groups also have alleged problems. The Post connected this troubling trade to Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company, a Chinese firm that is the largest buyer of artisanal cobalt in Congo and whose minerals are used in Apple products. Apple responded by pledging to clean up its cobalt supply chain, but the tech giant said it wanted to avoid hurting the Congolese miners by cutting them off.
That plan appears to have changed.
In a response to Sky’s revelations that the problems identified earlier were still prevalent, Apple said it has stopped buying cobalt from artisanal mines.
“We have been working with Huayou on a program that will verify individual artisanal mines, according to our standards,” Apple said in a statement, “and these mines will re-enter our supply chain when we are confident that the appropriate protections are in place.”
Apple has said it intends to begin this year scrutinizing its cobalt suppliers like it does its “conflict mineral” suppliers — the tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold from Congo that companies are required by securities law to attempt to certify does not come from militia-controlled mines. Apple said it plans to publish a list of the cobalt smelters, just as it does for its conflict mineral smelters.
Sky News reported that children continued to be employed in the cobalt mining that feeds into Apple’s supply chain. The report was centered on the former Katanga province of Congo, where Huayou Cobalt operates, although the Sky News report does not specify the locations.
A Huayou Cobalt spokesman told The Post that it was investigating the allegations made in Sky News story and had asked the broadcaster for more details.
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