But worst of all is cobalt, which mostly comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the Washington Post 15% of that country’s mining operations are in the “informal” (unregulated) sector, which employs upwards of 200,000 people (including thousands of children, some as young as six) working in unregistered and badly ventilated mines.
Get Glencore in there. Rapacious bastards they are, as well as being capitalist leeches. They also don’t employ kiddies down ‘t’t mine. That’s the artisanal, localised, small scale businesses that do that.
You know, everything the Green Party campaigns in favour of leads to kiddies down mines. Everything the Green Party campaigns against leads to not kiddies down mines. Voting Green is objectively pro-kiddies down mines.
Liking tales of the 19th century, I naturally sympathise with those fossickers who dig something valuable out of a pit in the jungle. Though I of course agree that it’s far easier and less dangerous if you let modern machinery do the hard work.
So, if I had to do the yakka instead the Congolese, I’d much rather let the machines do the tough bits.
I once saw sulphur being mined in a volcano in Indonesia. If anyone needed an injection of capital, it was those poor buggers lugging 50kgs of elemental sulphur up the crater and down the other side over and over
The more normal source is the wastes from oil refineries – proper capitalist jiggery pokery.
And yes, I know the volcano you speak of…..
I wonder how this blood cobalt gets used.
Well philip, if they ever decide to use it to build batteries to back up the windmills, as well as for EV’s, I suspect there’d really be a shortage.
But, since I’m not considering the energy cost of making the batteries, as well as extending the grid, I’d guess I’m still seriously underestimating the problems.
A while ago I learnt that the children employed in Victorian factories typically weren’t employed by the mill owner. They were employed by employees – their own fathers and uncles usually – as assistants.
I wondered why and then realised that it meant that the reward for their work would be paid to the adult who could then give the child as much or as little pocket money as he pleased.
KMcC: Breathing SO2 fumes as well. I wonder how long their lungs last? That must be one of the worst jobs on the planet.
Saw an interview with the guy who wrote the recent book/documentary on this and he admitted it had gotten significantly worse since western countries pulled out and Chinese companies took over, also conceded conditions would be better if the Americans had stayed.
Of course he then blamed American corporations like Apple and Tesla for the problem because they used cobalt in their products. Blaming the Chinese or corrupt Congolese officials he met on his visit seemed to beyond comprehension.
Naturally BniC. After all, only Westerners pay attention to that sort of nonsense.
If you can get a Chinee (or a Rooskie) going on the subject of Africans, you’ll be instantly transported back to the (“Dear Bill”) days of the Van der Kaffirbashers, upped by a factor of 10 or so.
It would be terribly wrong to get sulphur from oil refinery waste, because it probably has Chemicals mixed in with it.
It’s got to be naturally harvested organic sulpher, none of this fossil fuel derived rubbish.
I saw this video about how communism ‘almost worked’ in East Germany. Or, to put it another way, how it also failed in East Germany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCbM1WiV25o&t=79s&pp=ygUGbm92YXJh
It has to come from the Sulphur region of France, otherwise it’s just sparkling sulfur.
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