Question 52
**Cobalt mining**
Cobalt is a metal used to make batteries for mobile phones and electric cars. Cobalt ore is mined in a country called the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Africa. Many people who live there are very poor. Children work in the mines to make money to live. They are not paid very much for the work. The mines are not safe so the children can get hurt or can become ill. Some children who work in the mine are only seven years old. They break the rocks to separate the cobalt ore from the rock.
Some people who make mobile phones and electric cars try not to buy cobalt from mines that use children. Others do not find out where the cobalt they buy comes from.
What is cobalt used for?
Cobalt is a metal used to make batteries for mobile phones and electric cars. Cobalt ore is mined in a country called the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Africa. Many people who live there are very poor. Children work in the mines to make money to live. They are not paid very much for the work. The mines are not safe so the children can get hurt or can become ill. Some children who work in the mine are only seven years old. They break the rocks to separate the cobalt ore from the rock.
Some people who make mobile phones and electric cars try not to buy cobalt from mines that use children. Others do not find out where the cobalt they buy comes from.
What is cobalt used for?
