Cobalt
This niche metal is used to make magnets, phone batteries and the colour blue. But how do magnets work and where are they used? And is this key ingredient being mined by children?
Cobalt is a pricey metal used to make magnets, phone batteries and of course the colour blue. But what exactly are magnets, how do they work and where are they used? And is some of the cobalt in them being mined by children?
Presenter Laurence Knight hears from chemistry professor Andrea Sella of University College London why a permanent magnet is like a flock of birds. He travels to Arnold Magnetics near Sheffield where manager Martin Satyr explains how magnets are used in everything from recycling the heat from sports car engines to recycling your trash.
Also, Mark Dummett of Amnesty International, back from Katanga in southern Congo - source of half the world's cobalt - tells of his concerns about the conditions in which artisanal miners work, including children. And, David Weight of the Cobalt Development Institute explains what the industry is doing to ensure it knows where its cobalt is coming from.
Last on
Broadcasts
- Sat 14 Nov 2015 22:32GMT成人论坛 World Service except West and Central Africa
- Sun 15 Nov 2015 11:06GMT成人论坛 World Service Australasia
- Mon 16 Nov 2015 01:32GMT成人论坛 World Service
Podcast
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Elements
Chemical elements: where do we get them and how do they fit into our economy?