A new report by a humanitarian agency, IMPACT, has revealed how poverty is a driving force behind debilitating child labour in Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) artisanal cobalt mines.

Against the backdrop of rising costs, families are struggling to make ends meet. Many are going hungry. Children work when families get desperate, leading to a reliance on income from child labour to cover basic needs like food, clothing or school fees.

It is estimated that  more than 40,000 work in cobalt mines, with tens of thousands more forced into other forms of child labour despite DRC’s vast mineral wealth.

In its latest research report: How Households Depend on Children’s Income: The Case for Improving Women’s Livelihoods to Eliminate Child Labour in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Cobalt Sector, IMPACT finds that families depend most on women’s income. When mothers are struggling, children step in to help. Some are encouraged by their parents, or independently follow their siblings, friends, and neighbours.

Accompanying the report is a multimedia feature, Meet Gloria, which shares the story of an artisanal cobalt miner in DRC who works alongside her children.

“Children’s health, safety and well-being needs to be a priority. We need to ensure that efforts to address child labour in the cobalt supply chain don’t displace children to other mine sites or more precarious situations but address the underlying reasons for their work,” said Joanne Lebert, IMPACT’s executive director.

Artisanal cobalt mining provides the highest income in the area for children and other community members, with children earning up to $2.50 each per day. Children usually give their earnings to their mothers who use it for basic household necessities like food.

Despite a government promise for free education, parents must pay fees to cover teacher salaries and school operating costs. When young children are expelled from school for not paying these fees, mothers are forced to deal with a lack of available and safe childcare options. Unable to leave their young children at home by themselves, they bring them to the mine site.

“We heard from many mothers that they wished for a different life for their children, but they felt backed into a corner. Artisanal cobalt mining has the potential to spur economic development for DRC and its communities. But we need to invest in women artisanal cobalt miners to ensure they can provide for their families and deliver on this potential,” said Lebert.

Just like for their children, artisanal cobalt mining is the preferred income for women in the area. Women choose mining as it’s the highest earning job in the region, they have cash at the end of each day, and it requires no investment, little training or skill.

But inequality at the mine sites is prevalent. They take on the lowest paid roles such as washing ore, reported being cheated on price when selling their minerals or even prevented from accessing some mine sites.

IMPACT found that if children’s income is paying for family needs like food, then as a first step to tackle child labour, the income of the main breadwinners – the women – needs to increase.

IMPACT is calling on investment into locally women-led programmes as essential complementary measures to responsible sourcing projects in cobalt.

Cobalt is widely used in batteries for electronics including electric vehicles. Demand for the mineral is surging as it’s become critical in the clean energy transition.

More than 70 per cent of cobalt is sourced from DRC – with an estimated 30 per cent by artisanal miners.

• A Tell report