Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA)

A Disconnected Source

The demand for cobalt is increasing as its use in batteries and everyday technology grows. Most of the world’s supply of this highly sought-after mineral is produced in the Congolese province of Lualaba, and a significant proportion of that originates from artisanal mines. ASM provides a livelihood for thousands in a country where many people have no job at all, yet it is  associated with highly hazardous working conditions, systemic child labour, and unfair trading practices taking advantage of local workers selling to traders on the open market.

As it stands, most artisanal miners lack the means and expertise to adopt safer mining practices. While cobalt is heralded as a key ingredient in our global transition to a green economy, it is questionable whether the benefits it generates are being fairly distributed and reaching the communities who take the greatest risks in excavating it at its source.

Our Ambitions

The Impact Facility is the co-founder and the permanent secretariat for the FCA – an action platform, initiated to coordinate, support and scale local initiatives aimed at the betterment of the ASM sector in line four distinct workstreams:

Enabling safe and dignified working conditions
Child labour remediation
Raising worker incomes
Achieving market acceptance of Fair ASM Cobalt

The creation of the FCA was preceded by in-depth research starting in late 2018 during which The Impact Facility Team authored the Digging for Change Report 

Proud Members of the FCA

The FCA  has 20+ members spanning civil society and corporate actors across the cobalt supply chain.

Learn more about the FCA and its current progress on the official website
Change the text to – If you are interested in exploring FCA membership, please contact us below.

How we are making an imact

with your help

The London Metal Exchange partnered with The Impact Facility to launch a school improvement project in the Copper-Cobalt belt of the DR Congo

London Metal Exchange (LME) 13 Jul , 2021

The LME has awarded a grant of approximately US$ 790,000 to the Impact Facility. We will leverage this funding to establish and capitalize a school improvement fund focusing on increasing access to (quality)…

FCA Team

Our team of experts brings widespread experience in innovating global sustainability solutions backed by extensive technical knowledge.