A report by Amnesty International and Afrewatch published earlier today accuses companies like Samsung, Apple, Sony and others of procuring cobalt from smelters who use child labourers to mine the mineral. In addition to employing children as young as seven, the smelter – Congo Dongfang Mining, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese mineral giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd (Huayou Cobalt) is also accused of forcing adult and children work in hazardous conditions.
Samsung, Apple, LG, Volkswagen and a few more have been named as the electronic goods and car manufacturers to have used cobalt from the aforementioned smelter.
Cobalt is a component that is used in producing lithium-ion battery.
However, Samsung SDI manufactures batteries for Samsung and other customers denied sourcing the mineral from CDM or Huayou Cobalt Ltd and claimed that they conduct checks, including on-site checks every two years and award them with a certification.
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