#2556 - Siddharth Kara

AI data centers, alongside phones and EVs, now sustain a Congolese cobalt supply chain tainted by child labor, slavery, and toxic contamination.

• 300,000 diggers, 30,000 children: Kara's 2024 Nottingham report 'Blood Batteries' estimates 300,000 people mine Congolese cobalt daily, 37% in conditions of absolute slavery, ~10% (30,000) children.
• Water is poisoned: Field tests near Kolwezi found heavy metals up to 950x WHO safety limits, and river/well pH as low as 3-4 ("hyperacidic"), making land unfarmable.

Themes, sentiment and reasons are AI-written paraphrases, checked so they never quote an episode. They may contain errors. Not investment advice. Episodes remain the property of their creators.