Blogs

31 Jul, 2024

2023 Annual Report

Reflecting on 2023: FCA’s Official Impact and Financial Report By Camila Gomez Wills, Program Manager: Business and Human Rights, Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability at Tesla and Chairperson of the Steering Committee The Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA) remains steadfast in its commitment to nurturing a responsible and equitable artisanal cobalt sector in the Democratic Republic of […]

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8 Nov, 2023

Empowering Women in Cobalt Mining: A Path to Eliminating Child labour in Lualaba, DR Congo

Gloria’s story, as recounted by IMPACT, sheds light on the daunting challenges faced by women in the cobalt-rich region of Lualaba, DR Congo. These women are confronted with an agonizing choice – to confront hunger or turn to cobalt mining – what the downstream refers to as artisanal mining. This dilemma uncovers deep-rooted gender inequalities […]

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22 Mar, 2023

Establishing fair trading practices at artisanal cobalt mine sites

One of the Fair Cobalt Alliance’s three strategic objectives is increasing the incomes of artisanal miners and their wider community. Key to that strategy is ensuring fair value retention at the point of mineral sales.

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15 Mar, 2023

VSLAs – building peer-to-peer networks to strengthen financial resilience

VSLAs: What are they? Voluntary Savings and Loans Associations Reason for creation? Despite the increased income of artisanal miners compared to their peers in sectors such as agriculture, they are still poverty-stricken due to the mismanagement of their resources and the lack of financial education. Voluntary Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) are designed to support […]

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15 Feb, 2023

Publishing FCA Annual Report 2022

In our commitment to stay transparent about our work in the DR Congo, we are proud to publish the 2022 impact and financial report available here. Starting with a foreword (below) from the former Chairwoman of the Steering Committee, Angela Jorns and the Executive Director of the FCA, Assheton Stewart Carter, the annual report has, […]

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10 Jan, 2023

2023 – The year of critical minerals

Critical minerals – critical to what? EU and US ambitions to reach net-zero or DR Congo’s long-term prosperity; they could mean the same – but do they? With the war raging in Eastern Europe, Europe’s reliance on Russian gas is more apparent than ever as average consumers and companies face skyrocketing gas prices. This has […]

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28 Nov, 2022

Connectivity Today And My Journey To The Beginning Of The Cobalt Supply Chain

My name is Andrina Beaumond and in early November 2022, I joined the Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA) as Senior Stakeholder Engagement and Programme Manager. On my very first day in my new role, I took part in a week-long delegation visit to Kolwezi, in the DR Congo. A week that turned out to be an […]

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Fair Cobalt Alliance
9 Mar, 2022

Reflecting on 2021: FCA’s Official Impact and Financial Report

As the demand for cobalt rises and our reliance on it becomes more evident, the need to ensure markets have access to reliable and responsible sources strengthens. The goal of the FCA is for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be known as one such responsible source.

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