I A local accident, a global crisis: when a human tragedy becomes an industrial earthquake

On November 17, an artisanal bridge collapsed under pressure from workers at the mine. The site, located 42 kilometers south of Kolwezi, is officially a semi-industrial mining zone occupied by artisans. According to provisional figures, the incident left 32 people dead and many others injured, including some seriously, according to the government. The fragile infrastructure collapsed under the pressure of a crowd fleeing fire from the armed guards securing the site.

Is this green transition built on grey areas?

This tragedy illustrates a wider reality: the global energy transition relies on gray areas, where demand for cobalt and copper is exposed to power the lithium-ion batteries of Tesla, Panasonic, LG, BMW, Volkswagen and Apple, while the terrain remains marked by human precariousness and opaque supply chains.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is at the center of the global cobalt and copper market. Theexplosion in demand stems from the energy transition and digital technologies.

The recent export quota, audits revealing USD 16.8 billion in under-reporting, and the first shipments of traceable artisanal cobalt provide a glimpse of the efforts underway. There have been reforms: limiting cobalt exports to certain companies, launching traceable artisanal cobalt, digitization and gradual formalization of mining operations.

• Accident revealing an unbalanced production system:

The mine’s collapse highlights the structural dependenceinherited from the great wave of Westerndeindustrialization in the 1990s, which fixed the international division of labor in a configuration that is now obsolete but still dominant. For three decades, Western companies relocated their most strategic activities, notably the extraction and refining of critical metals, to low-cost zones, without anticipating the accumulated risks. This global architecture has created value chains where extraction is concentrated in a few unstable territories, refining in China, and assembly in the rest of Asia. Together, they form a systemic dependency, the consequences of which come to light as soon as one of these links breaks down.

This model has been accompanied by a veritable “black box effect”.black box effect“Companies benefit from a continuous flow of cobalt without any real knowledge of the material conditions under which it is extracted. The opacity of supply chains, particularly in the mining sector, is such that the real traceability of ores remains very limited. The number of intermediaries and spot purchases is increasing, and the information communicated to multinationals is often incomplete, or even deliberately concealed or set aside. But the collapse of the mine brutally reveals the reality on the ground: dilapidated infrastructures, child labor or underpaid miners, and pressure from illegal networks.

This catastrophe is all the more serious in that it is currently impossible to rapidly substitute cobalt in global battery production. NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) batteries, indispensable to the electric automotive industry, remain technologically dependent on this metal. Alternatives such as LFP batteries, nickel-free models and sodium-ion batteries are promising, but still limited in terms of performance, energy density and industrial availability. This accident highlights a resource whose supply is concentrated, opaque and extremely vulnerable.

• The immediate impact of the collapse on supply chains

The mine’s collapse sent an instant shockwave through world markets. The price of cobalt, already highly volatile, soared in a matter of days, with direct repercussions for the automotive, electronics and aerospace industries. European and American gigafactories, already facing supply tensions, are now facing significant delays in their production schedules. Extreme dependence on the Democratic Republic of Congo, combined with the inability of players to anticipate such a shock, reveals the fragility of an industry that is supposed to be the future of the energy transition.

Faced with this crisis, the ESG compliance of many companies is being called into question. Under the European CSDD Directive, regulations on conflict minerals and due diligence obligations under French law, multinationals must rigorously prove that their raw materials are extracted responsibly. However, with the sudden collapse of the chain and the general lack of transparency in the region, many of them find themselves completely unable to provide such proof. The collapse thus exposes the weaknesses of a system in which ESG compliance was declarative rather than actually verified, exposing companies to major legal, financial and reputational risks.

• A predictable but irreformable system?

The accident was by no means an isolated event: it was the almost mechanical consequence of a system marked by extremely dangerous working conditions, ageing infrastructure and the uncontrolled proliferation of artisanal mines. In the absence of massive investment in infrastructure modernization and safety, cave-ins and fatal accidents are a frequent occurrence. In many areas, miners work without equipment, under pressure from middlemen or informal networks. This situation stems not only from chronic under-investment, but also from an operating model that prioritizes speed and volume over any social or human consideration.

This social context is compounded by geopolitical rivalries over the control of critical metals. Despite its strategic resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo suffers from a lack of local regulation, fragmented governance and extreme economic dependence on the mining sector. Tensions between local militias, political actors, foreign companies and international powers create an environment where structural reforms remain difficult to implement. The east of the country, in particular, is marked by chronic instability: cobalt revenues sometimes fuel armed groups who control or levy informal taxes on certain mines, transforming mining into a direct source of conflict financing. Although the disaster was foreseeable in view of the accumulated signals, the system seems to be locked in by a combination of economic, geopolitical and institutional factors that hamper any lasting reform.

• Impact of supply chain opacity on the market :

The economic impact of the accident was amplified by the opacity of the cobalt supply chain. The suspension of exports by the DRC, followed by the introduction of strict quotas, immediately caused prices to soar. In particular, the price of cobalt hydroxide has risen dramatically, doubling since the beginning of 2015. This surge is putting entire sectors that depend on a stable supply under pressure, first and foremost the battery industry.

Global producers such as CMOC and Glencore are now facing heightened uncertainty: production interruptions, logistical difficulties, regulatory risks and investor pressure. This situation is creating additional volatility on financial markets, particularly for listed companies dependent on cobalt extraction or use. Rising geopolitical risks and increased operating costs are causing major fluctuations in the valuations of these companies, contributing to a tense and cautious atmosphere on the markets.

II How to stop financing war and exploitation

Mining is not just an industrial issue, it can also fuel local conflicts. Indeed, it is an economic engine for several armed groups operating in certain areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Militias and armed groups use cobalt revenues to finance weapons and military operations, turning strategic minerals into fuel for violence.

The extreme influence of major Western and Chinese companies is directly and indirectly attributed to regulated and unregulated mining. Some major companies own mining groups in the region, and much of the wild mining industry uses coordinators or intermediaries linked to China, where most of the world’s electronics manufacturing is concentrated.

The wild, unregulated industry knows no labor laws or safety rules , and has regularly been reported for child labor. NGOs regularly document the existence of practices such as child labor, the use of makeshift infrastructure, frequent cave-ins and the total absence of protective devices. This practice of profit-driven extraction by external actors has long drained the resources of the DRC and other similar territories, at the cost of the lives of workers and populations living around the mines.

The immediate response is to diversify the geography of supply to avoid excessive dependence on a single country or risk zone.

Political stability, regulatory alignment and diplomatic proximity now take precedence over cost alone. This is the friendshoringwhich favors “reliable”, democratic and predictable partners. Examples include Apple, which moves part of its production to India and Vietnam to reduce its exposure to China, and Tesla, which secures lithium and nickel contracts outside China and invests in suppliers located in politically aligned countries. In this way, companies limit the geopolitical risks, logistical disruptions and social harm associated with opaque supply chains.

Visit nearshoring and relocation also represent a production strategy closer to end markets.

Nearshoring involves bringing industrial stages closer to Europe to reduce the risks associated with long distances, logistical delays and regulatory differences. In Europe, this strategy takes the form of gigafactories (in France, Germany and Poland), new refining and cathode pre-treatment infrastructures, and recycling units close to industrial centers. France is home to several major sites, including “Battery Valley” in the Hauts-de-France region. The ACC gigafactory (Automotive Cells Company, Consortium Stellantis, Mercedes and TotalEnergies) at Dourvin produces lithium-ion battery cells for the European automotive industry, while a second plant at Billy-Berclau has already begun its industrial ramp-up. At the same time, Verkor is building a gigafactory in Dunkirk capable of producing 16 GWh per year, with the backing of Renault. The country is also investing in metals refining: the Imerys project in the Allier region aims to develop a “made in France” lithium extraction and processing cluster, while Veolia’s site in Orléans, specialized in battery recycling via hydrometallurgy, makes France one of Europe’s leaders in strategic recycling.

To control volumes, prices and compliance, some companies adopt a vertical integration strategy: they invest directly in mines, refineries or processing plants.

Vertical integration reduces opacity and strengthens traceability to dubious intermediaries, as in the case of BMW, which has signed long-term contracts for certified cobalt, guaranteeing extraction in compliance with social and environmental standards, notably with the MANAGEM group in Africa.

Against a backdrop of extreme market volatility, companies stabilize their supplies by signing 5-10 year contracts with ESG commitments, and by building up strategic reserves: European carmakers such as Renault, BMW and Volkswagen use this strategy to secure cobalt, lithium and nickel. This enables them to withstand geopolitical crises and limit exposure to informal markets.

By adapting practices to the circular economy, the recycling of strategic metals is set to become a pillar of security of supply: recycling could reduce dependence on extraction. By 2040, recycled lithium and cobalt could cover 20% and 30% of global demand.

Emerging technologies also make it possible to recover phosphorus from wastewater, reuse cathode materials and massively reduce industrial waste. This circular transformation reduces pressure on the Democratic Republic of Congo, reduces ESG risks and strengthens European industrial sovereignty.

Digital technologies are redefining the way companies control their supply chains. Blockchain, for example, is an unforgeable register that ensures traceability from mine to factory. IoT ( internet of things ) is the use of sensors connected to ore bags, or smart scales to geolocate shipments. Finally,AI is used for automated audits, real-time risk analysis and anomaly identification.

These innovations are a direct response to the requirements of the European CSDDD directive, which imposes complete vigilance over the entire supply chain.

Securing strategic minerals is no longer just an industrial issue, it’s a geopolitical priority: the European Union has concluded mining partnerships with Namibia and Chile, the United States subsidizes its mines via the Inflation Reduction Act, and Japan and South Korea are multiplying cooperation agreements to stabilize their supplies. These arrangements form part of a framework of “mining diplomacy” and “public-private risk governance partnerships“, creating a stable institutional framework and helping to avoid the informal networks that finance conflicts.

Dependence on critical resources is now recognized as a systemic risk. Forward-thinking companies are integrating it into their corporate governance through specialized audit committees, detailed ESG reports, strict supplier charters, internal geopolitical risk ratings, and stress test scenarios linked to supply disruptions. This change demonstrates to investors that the company actively manages its exposure to unstable zones and limits the risk of indirectly financing conflicts.

Photo by Vidit Goswami on Unsplash

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