昨今、コバルトのお値段が低落傾向とか

BBC Why smartphones are no longer driving the search for 'blue gold' 11 August 2019 By Jamie Robertson

「This week, Swiss-based miner Glencore shut the Mutanda cobalt mine, the world's biggest, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying it was "no longer economically viable".」

　生産量の60%がDR Congo。しかしそこで

「Mr Heppel said: "The country's mining code had promised another 10-year freeze on the amount of royalties mining companies had to pay the government. Then suddenly it increased that royalty from 2.5% up to 10%. That is a massive hike."」

　…まあその、列強が弱小国に押し付けたあまりに不利な契約を民衆のパワーで覆し、というのは理解しやすいには理解しやすいのだが。

「Earlier this year, Verisc Maplecroft, the influential global risk consultant, named the DRC as top of its list of countries most likely to nationalise their resource industries, equal with Venezuela. "That," said Mr Heppel, "gives you an idea of how risky it is to invest in the country."」

　国有化・接収、となると、まあ…もごもご。

「And as prices start to creep up, another factor will return to the market - the artisanal miners.」

　価格が安定し、弱小資本の会社もやっていけるとなると、民族資本万歳！的な思想からはいいことのようにみえるが（この限りでは）―

「Two months ago, more than 40 miners were killed working illegally on a Glencore site in Lualaba province in south-east DRC when a mine collapsed.」
「Unicef estimates that there are approximately 40,000 children working in mines across southern DRC.

Amnesty has accused Apple, Samsung and Sony, among others, of failing to do basic checks to ensure the miners did not include children.」

　もちろん、不良装備のまま百メートルもさがれば窒息もするし、労働災害はおこりっぱ。児童労働は跋扈するし、この点について言えばまだしも国際的大企業に管理してもらったほうがまだまし、つーか管理しろ国際的大企業！といいたいわけである。

「By 2020, he expects the miners' output to hit record levels as they take up the slack from the closing of the Glencore site, risking their health and lives in the unregulated market to feed our green demand for electric cars.」

　まーそーゆーわけで「to feed our green demand」と書いてあるわけであり、はーいポリコレの戦士様方、お出番ですよーと思ったりする。