Kolwezi mining district, Lualaba province, DRC. Artisanal miner during the cobalt extraction phase. Local miners sell their products at authorized buying houses located close to the mines, many of which are run by foreign nationals. These buying houses then sell the ore to international trading companies, who refine it within the DRC before exportation. Typically, the mineral is then loaded onto trucks and driven to the South African port of Durban. From there, ships carry most of it to China for further processing and sale to component manufacturers.
