Why the Fair Cobalt Alliance exists.
We were created to answer a hard question: how do you make the cobalt the world increasingly depends on fair to the people who mine it, instead of walking away and leaving them worse off?
Our mission.
The FCA is a multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to transform the artisanal and small-scale cobalt mining sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: by channelling demand for and increasing the availability of responsible artisanal cobalt, by systemically addressing the root causes of child labour and dangerous practices at mine sites, and by fostering a just transition to a diversified economy that drives the region's sustainable development.
Our vision is a cobalt supply chain whose stakeholders, along its length and breadth, align to develop responsible and fair cobalt, bringing prosperity to mining communities while meeting the global demand for equitable cobalt.
The artisanal sector is often characterised by poor and dangerous working conditions and child labour. The FCA challenges that overly simple picture of cobalt mining in the DRC. We know that it does not have to be like this.The Fair Cobalt Alliance
How it began.
By 2020, demand for cobalt was climbing fast, driven by the batteries in electric vehicles, phones and storage. Much of it came from the DRC, and a share was mined by hand, in conditions that drew global concern over safety and child labour.
The common response was to threaten disengagement. But artisanal mining supports hundreds of thousands of people, and cutting it out of supply chains would remove their income and any leverage to improve conditions. A group of companies and organisations chose a different path: stay, and fix it together.
The Fair Cobalt Alliance was established in August 2020 by Fairphone, Signify, Huayou Cobalt and Glencore, convened and managed by The Impact Facility, a UK-registered charity that serves as its permanent secretariat.
The story so far.
- 2020
FCA established; baseline analysis of the Kasulu and Kamilombe mine sites.
- 2023
Child Labour Remediation Hub opens in Kolwezi; first Cobalt Credits sold.
- 2024
Pit-covering safety programme; ten-school solar electrification project.
- 2025
Bellagio convening on responsible ASM; savings groups and remediation scale up.
- 2026
Annual Impact & Finance Report published; public book-and-claim framework due.
How a fairer sector gets built.
Engage, don't boycott
Artisanal mining is not going anywhere. We stay and channel demand toward responsible production.
Tackle the root causes
Safer mines plus diversified income make mining a choice, so children go to school.
Invest across the chain
We mobilise finance and expertise from every link and direct it to the communities.
Measure and prove it
Independent monitoring and an open annual survey keep us honest. Impact is published.
Be part of the answer.
The FCA only works because companies and organisations choose to engage. Add yours.