The minerals tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold are found in most consumer electronics, and can be mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which contains an estimated $24 trillion dollars in untapped mineral resources. Yet the DRC remains one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, and mining these metals can help fund armed conflict in the region. Despite international attention and widespread regulations, it’s still hard to know exactly where our minerals are coming from, and under what conditions they were mined.
But the metals are integral to consumer electronics. In a smartphone, for example, tin is used to solder metal components together, while tantalum is used in capacitors, which store electrical energy. Tungsten is used in the components that make a phone vibrate, and gold is used in circuit board connectors.
In the past decade, African countries, intergovernmental organizations and companies have ramped up their efforts to clean up mineral supply chains. But consumers still can’t be sure if the minerals in their electronics are fully conflict-free, or if the mines where they originated are dangerous, environmentally destructive, or use child labor.
“The whole process is muddied,” says Oluwole Ojewale, the Regional Organized Crime Observatory coordinator for Central Africa at the Institute for Security Studies in Dakar, Senegal.
That’s largely because in the DRC and surrounding countries, hundreds of thousands of people work in the informal mining sector, toiling away using hand tools in what are known as artisanal and small-scale mines. This type of mining can be hazardous and difficult to regulate, but it’s also one of the few sources of income available to some of the world’s poorest men and women.
So while companies like Apple, Microsoft, Intel and Tesla put out extensive reports on conflict minerals every year, usually stating that there is no reason to believe the minerals they source help to support armed groups, corruption and instability at mine sites means there are no guarantees.
Apple, Intel and Tesla did not reply to requests for comment, while a Microsoft spokesperson stated, “Microsoft remains committed to responsible and ethical sourcing and takes this issue very seriously.”
“You have the international market that has these perfect standards,” explains Joanne Lebert, the executive director at IMPACT, a nongovernmental organization focused on improving natural resource governance in areas where security and human rights are at risk.
“They want perfect environmental conditions. They want all the development factors taken in, like gender equality and anti-corruption and this and that. They want the perfect package, but that’s not the situation on the ground,” Lebert said.
Watch the video to learn more about why it’s so difficult to rid the supply chain of conflict minerals.
Chapters:
1:59 – What are conflict minerals
4:13 – Efforts to trace minerals
7:45 – The future of conflict minerals
Produced by: Katie Brigham
Edited by: Dain Evans
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Graphics by: Jason Reginato, Christina Locopo
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
#CNBC
The Disturbing Connection Between Your Phone And Violence In The Congo
36 Comments
Rather there than here where all my stuff is
An even more horrible aspect of this is that people are careless and throw most of it away because there is almost ZERO recycling education or policy in the US.
♻️🌍🌲🌎🌳♻️🫵
😢
Most Chinese consumers don't care about whether the minerals come from conflict regions or not. Hence, there is no much incentive for Chinese companies to scrintize the sources.
Thanks Joe Rogan for allowing your guest Siddharth Kara to make this go viral. Respect 🫡
this won’t stop like the illegal drug market won’t stop. as long as there’s greed….there will always be bad people. (not all, but a good chunk)
Capitalism necessitates exploitation like this. It's too profitable not to.
0:18 ahh yess the M StixTeen… Or is that an M Forrest???
As long is there a need, there will always be greed. Various metals are able to be sourced elsewhere in the world, tho it makes it more expensive which the consumer does not like
You just talk how companies should Stop buying these minerals, but then what will happen to these people? They will die of hunger! It's in the interest to support the conflict with as many groups as possible so that the DRC never becomes rich. Ask the Belgian government for a comment on how they feel when they see this and if they think something should be done. Corruption is problem number 1! Solve it and there will be "conflict" minerals no more, just minerals.
Not giving up my tech for human rights.
But it is democratic. Just like North Korea.
If only Chyna followed Western "values" like stealing and exploiting African countries. This topic is important but the virtue signaling is insane.
Sounds like the weed argument. Legitimize it so that you can regulate it. I'm down honestly, I'm cool with that.
companies dont need to be trying to find bad actors thats the goverments job companies need to be trying to help the people on the ground who are doing this work and suffering. Companies need to invest in those people to give them dignity and a decent life.
What's with the bl*ack guy thumbnail It's making 🥴😤 how can I watch it
CHANGE IT CNBC
What's DRC?
They need to treat there people way better that’s unacceptable. They should just stop having kids why would they wanna bring new generations into that. People shouldn’t buy these things till the people are being treated as good as the people’s buying them. And even the people buying them have there own things they are still perfecting in there lives.
COBALT RED should be an Eye Opener for ALL. The West AND China can't give any excuses now.
If the desired goal is to not source raw materials from places that will use the funds to pay for armed conflict then where are we supposed to buy from?
Japan is the only industrialized nation not involved in armed conflicts, and even they are rebuilding their military so they can be more involved.
I guess CNBC wants to pretend that the US is not funding any armed conflicts.
What about Cobalt? It is the must have conflict mineral in Elon EV. Or it is too sensitive to talk about cobalt? Also know as one of the most toxic mineral know to man and we can't stop consume it lately.
At least I'm happy with my phone 😊. Thank you for all your hard work.
Self-righteous Westerners who think that Wi-Fi is a 'basic human right' need to watch this video.
yeah i dont think about it or really care
The problem is corruption and embezzlement established in the DRC leadership. When you will end corruption, you will automatically end the Congo war and poverty. Very simple. Greed among the Congo leadership is the root of problem. Put them in jail one by one please.
I have been using the same old flip phone for over 5 years and I fully intend to use it until it completely fails. All this status seeking behavior of buying the latest gizmo as soon as it goes on sale not only fuels conflict around the world, but is also killing the planet as well. THINK before you buy. Don't be a slave to Madison Ave. How could they possibly know what it takes to make you happy?
Us Americans complain too much about little things.
Democratic republic of the Congo
Think about it!
While the solutions and responsibility to assure safety and dignity in mining work lie with local governments, there has to be an acknowledgement from western nations and firms that they have largely borne the responsibility of funding and lobbying destabilizing actions in these countries in the past. If they can commit to put these practices to bed, then these countries can hope to get to a path of prosperity.
When England was there, at least there was stability ond no violence
A balanced and informative video, well done CNBC. Good to see the constructive comments from Joanne Lebert / Impact (formerly PAC). Some observations:
– Impact questioning companies outsourcing all their due diligence work. What is the alternative? Some companies supplement or replace this outsourcing with their own mine site visits, creating sometimes a large burden on sites receiving visitors up to several times a week. Similar issue as for audits, requiring cross-recognition to avoid audit fatigue. Outsourcing is an essential element in performing due diligence efficiently and with a minimum of duplication.
– CNBC quoting 67% of Ta coming from the DRC & Rwanda; it should be put into the context of considerable uncertainty over this figure due to insufficiently detailed production data worldwide by country. Nevertheless it is most likely the majority of global production from these two countries combined.
– Key point in the whole video: for conflict issues to be minimised or disappear, what is required is STABILITY. The question then becomes how this is achieved:
1) harmonised taxes in the region to remove smuggling incentives, in combination with good regional cooperation;
2) ensuring civil service (state) employees, including the armed forces, are paid adequately and on time in order to remove the incentive to supplement their income by other means;
3) transparency and accountability to eliminate graft at all levels of government administration, starting from the top leading as a positive example.
There are probably many more useful steps that could be taken, however the above three would set solid foundations to build other efforts on.
This is what the green agenda bring to Americans Slavery
we need to take all the minerals away till they learn to play nice with them
The corrupt Congolese government is to be blamed for this situation. They are billionaires while their own people are digging cobalt with empty hands. The people should go after the corrupt officials and get what belongs to them..
Crazy how this doesn’t have even 100k views. The world is sad place. People can’t even watch a video about it.
The great mother land. No Congo no phone. Create by the greedy. By the companies that come and take. This been here for many year’sssss Everyone want big phone, electric cars, etc…. While suffering of the brothers and sisters. The mother Africa. .