Podcast
Conflict over minerals
Is the way we mine the minerals for electric car batteries and mobile phones fair or responsible?
![MInerals used in cell phones and laptops. Photo: Sasha Lezhnev, Enough Project. Link: https://bit.ly/398srHm](/files/styles/landscape_01/public/media/image/4803040690_9c894a3aff_o%20%281%29.jpg?h=99414b3b&itok=NPy3LVP8)
Illustration © Enough Project copyright license
The scramble for Africa began in earnest in the 1880s when European powers started competing to extract valuable natural resources like rubber, timber and ivory. A century later, our hard-wired world again relies on valuable resources from Africa: uranium, coltan, cobalt—the stuff we need in our mobile phones and electric car batteries.
Tune in to this episode of the Cambridge-based Naked Scientist podcast series to hear DIIS senior researcher Peer Schouten discuss the issues with Ed Kessler and Christopher Wadibia.
Regions
Sub-Saharan Africa
DIIS Experts
![Peer Schouten](/files/styles/square_01/public/media/image/peer-schouten.jpg?h=9b6ac177&itok=jNCsAUDo)
Photo/illustration by Lynggaardhansenfoto.dk
Conflict over minerals
Is the way we mine the minerals for electric car batteries and mobile phones fair or responsible?