DRAINING THE DRC

VICE ON SHOWTIME

The south of the Democratic Republic of Congo sits on top of about four million tons of cobalt, a silvery-blue mineral used in nearly every lithium rechargeable battery on the planet. That's nearly half of the world’s known supply. And yet the Congo remains among the five poorest countries on the planet. A brutal combination of post-colonial dynamics, corruption and excessive greed have left those desperately digging with their bare hands with the losing card in the billion-dollar industry. In April 2024, VICE traveled to the Congo to investigate how cobalt mining became such a profitable venture for major companies and yet an often life-threatening trade for the miners themselves.