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How do you think we're getting all those rare earth minerals? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/31/the-dark-side-of-congos-cobalt-rush https://www.new
by grotted 3y ago
How do you think we're getting all those rare earth minerals?
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/31/the-dark-side-of-congos-cobalt-rush https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/31/the-dark-side-...
- peterfirefly 3y agoCobalt is not a rare earth mineral + only a low single-digit fraction of our cobalt comes from Congo. ... and living conditions for most Congolese are still better than they used to be, even for the lowest 10%.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- grotted 3y agoWell they're certainly better than we were mass harvesting their hands, but that's a low bar.
- ffgjgf1 3y agoOr ever. Not that it’s a fair comparison modern medicine and some (even on a minimal level) access to healthcare means that the majority of people who are alive now would’ve been dead. Of course that’s certainly not the only thing.
- defrost 3y ago"Artisanal" cobalt mining isn't the source of most of the worlds cobalt, it's an unregulated cowboy side trade that's hard to stamp out. https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/top-cobalt-producing-countries/ https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/top-cobalt-produci... That said, horrific working conditions abound in today's modern world, another example being "call centre coolies", eg: Inside the call centre scam that lured vulnerable workers to Cambodia and trapped them in the murky world of human trafficking https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-29/inside-call-centre-scams-in-cambodia-torture-fear-and-survival/101770352 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-29/inside-call-centre-sc... these places pop up all over the globe.