First Mining Drc-Zambia July/Aug 2019 First Mining DRC-ZAMBIA July-August 2019 digital | Page 6

NEWS
China Molybdenum declined to comment.
TFM’s deputy general director, Kasongo
Bin Nassor, said at a conference last
week the mine asked government to do
more to secure the concession, but did
not request the army be deployed.
He said the mine was invaded and illegal
miners roughed up TFM employees,
damaged machinery and made it hard to
access parts of the concession. “Once
you have metals that require serious
investment, you cannot encourage
artisanal mining,” Bin Nassor said.
BMW said in April it would buy cobalt
directly from mines in Australia and
Morocco.
eneral Motors said it did not purchase
cobalt directly and referred questions
to LG Chem, its battery supplier. LG
Chem us using blockchain technology in
partnership with automakers Ford Motor
Co. and Volkswagen, tech firm IBM and
Huayou Cobalt for ethically sourced
minerals, including cobalt.
Apple said since 2016 its suppliers in
Congo have taken part in third-party
audits to ensure they abide by a code of
conduct. The US tech giant dropped two
cobalt refiners and smelters last year.
With 64% of global cobalt supplies
coming from Congo in 2018, according
to the United States Geological Survey,
it will be difficult to cut the country out of
supply chains.
General Numbi is currently under US,
EU and Swiss sanctions for reportedly
threatening violence against opposition
politicians in 2016. He denies any
wrongdoing.
STRATEGIC INTERESTS
The risk of ending up with Congolese
cobalt mined by children in dangerous
conditions has prompted some car
companies to look for alternatives. Tesla
is trying to use more nickel – mainly
sourced from Indonesia, the Philippines,
Russia and New Caledonia – and less
cobalt in car batteries. Tesla says its
next generation battery won’t use cobalt
at all.
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