1.Implementation Background
Artisanal cobalt mining is an important way of life for local people, and the root cause of child labor is poverty. Simply ending the supply relationship with artisanal mining could exacerbate poverty in cobalt mining areas, and worsen the livelihoods of local artisanal miners.
How do we ensure that we can source responsibly from artisanal mining and maintain a policy of child labour-free? How can child labour be responsibly removed from mines in the DRC without harming their lives?
2. Pattern Conversion
2.1Typical ASM supply chain: The circulation of artisanal mining, the mixing of the minerals from each artisanal mining site in the free trade market, and sell to smelters, and the risk is completely uncontrollable.
2.2 Template mining pattern: Avoid the cobalt free trade market, control risks through the source, and transport the responsible cobalt mining directly from the source of the mine to the smelter through a traceable management system.
3.Systematic Frame
3.1The source of the minerals is clear, including the legitimacy of the mining site, supplier compliance, etc;
3.2The risks of minerals are controllable, including risks of child labor, occupational health and safety, etc;
3.3Traceable minerals, meaning it could be traced from mining to smelting. Establish responsible purchasing standards by refining the system framework.
4.Practice Situations
In June 2017, Huayou Cobalt and its Congo subsidiary company CDM, the local governments, NGOs and stakeholders work together to build the first responsible artisanal cobalt mining site in Congo - Kasulu artisanal mining site, which is in the true sense from the legitimacy, risk control and traceability aspects to fundamentally eliminate the nature of the red area, and show the world that responsible aritisanal cobalt mining is feasible.
