Child labor tied to clean-energy boom underscores ethics in mining

The world’s push to decarbonize the economy is intensifying a troubling paradox: the minerals that power electric vehicle batteries, solar cells, and wind turbines are often mined by children in some of Africa’s poorest regions. In crude mines across Central and Sub-Saharan Africa, hands that should hold pencils and schoolbooks hammer rocks and search for cobalt, lithium, mica, copper, and other minerals needed for the clean-energy transition. While governments and companies tout the race to secure minerals outside fossil fuels, an estimated 40,000 children work in cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the source of over half the world’s supply. In Madagascar, about 10,000 children mine for mica. Children also labor in dangerous lithium mines in Nigeria and copper mines in Zambia. Globally, more than one million children work in mines and quarries. The mining industry has long been male-dominated at the top, but activists emphasize that solving child labor requires listening to the solutions proposed by women workers, caregivers, and community advocates.

The drivers of demand are both economic and geopolitical. Consumer demand for minerals and efforts to meet climate-mitigation goals are driving rapid growth in extractive industries that mine these minerals. Lithium demand rose by 30% in 2023, and demand for nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements grew 8% or more. Geopolitical imperatives to lessen dependence on China, which drove about 90% of the supply growth for cobalt, graphite, and rare earth minerals between 2020 and 2024, have prompted the United States, the European Union, Canada, and several multinational banks to invest in Africa. Companies faced with evidence of human rights abuses and public backlash often find it simpler to cut ties with bad suppliers, leaving the local community without its livelihood. While some communities oppose mining or want it halted, others see potential benefits of regulated mining to promote local prosperity. “The mines are natural gifts. The mines are needed, but we don’t want exploitation of children,” says Imaobong Ladip Sanusi, who leads the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation in Nigeria.

Listening to the people closest to the problem, particularly women, is central to efforts to reform supply chains. The United States, the European Union, Canada, and other mineral buyers can and do demand fair labor practices, but lasting progress depends on local voices. “Listening to women is crucial because they are often the primary caregivers for children in communities,” said Annie Sinaduku Mwange, a Congolese mine owner and activist. “They understand family dynamics and the economic challenges they face.” In Nigeria, Sanusi’s organization connects a network of women who identify cases of child labor and then develop solutions. “All too often, community outreach is top down and misses the mark,” she said. Her group favors policies that come from engagement with parents, religious leaders, and other local actors, including practical supports such as school feeding programs that reduce the need for families to send children to mines. When a child laborer is identified, organizers try to place the child with a relative who can afford to send them to school. They also help mobilize communities to support affected families.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mwange advocates for women’s empowerment as a path to keeping children out of mines. Artisanal mining remains a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people: estimates place 500,000 to 2 million people dependent on artisanal mining, and an estimated 30% to 50% of workers are women. Yet women are often relegated to the lowest-paid roles and endure harassment. Mwange’s network supports women miners to acquire funds and expertise to purchase and manage their own operations, creating a pathway to economic power that correlates with education for children. These “mères” bosses—mother bosses—set rules, demand respect, and build financial independence. “Women with economic power are more likely to send their children to school instead of into the mines,” Mwange says. Meanwhile, workers in larger industrial mines—more often male—also confront abusive conditions and demand fair wages to support their families, according to Anneke Van Woudenberg, executive director of RAID, a corporate watchdog organization. RAID works with CAJJ, a legal aid group, to back workers challenging cobalt mining companies in Congolese courts and to press for fair wages. The Freedom Fund supports locally led strategic litigation to combat forced labor. Taken together, these efforts aim to protect children and demand decent pay and safe working conditions as the world advances its clean-energy goals.

The path to ethical, mutually prosperous supply chains is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, advocates stress learning from those on the ground and investing in communities that host mining activity. Nigeria’s experience shows that government policy and private investment must align with community-led protections. The Nigerian government plans to commission two major lithium processing plants this year, backed by Chinese investors. While this signals momentum for Africa’s role in the energy transition, the extraction frontier remains lightly regulated and unlicensed mines are still common. Activists argue that governance must accompany investment: regulate mining to protect workers, require transparency in supply chains, and fund social programs that reduce child labor while supporting families.

The broader lesson, according to advocates, is clear: lifting up the entire community lifts children out of mines. In the DRC and beyond, empowering women—who often bear the economic brunt of poverty and are central to child-rearing decisions—can shift household dynamics toward education and away from hazardous labor. As demand for minerals to power clean energy continues to rise, listening to women and investing in communities will be crucial to ensuring that progress toward climate goals does not come at the expense of children.

The issue sits at the intersection of climate and environment: the transition to low-carbon energy hinges on minerals whose extraction often exacts a human toll. The challenge for policymakers, corporations, and financiers is to align climate objectives with robust rights protections, ensuring that the mineral boom does not replicate the harms of the fossil-fuel era but instead advances sustainable development for the communities that host the mines.