Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses how the launch of the DRC’s state-owned mining company EGC uses a certain ‘responsible sourcing’ discourse to legitimize involvement in the artisanal small-scale cobalt mining sector, and if and how this reflects historical patterns of exploitation.

Paper long abstract:

In reaction to the global focus on ‘battery minerals’ along with increased sustainability pressures, a new ‘responsible sourcing framework’ is changing the DRC’s cobalt supply chain governance. State and non-state actors are actively cooperating based on their common stated goal of making the cobalt supply chain more responsible. This includes the state-owned mining company Enterprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC).

The launch of EGC fits into the trend of resource nationalism, as it is an attempt to increase the DRC state’s ownership and control over cobalt reserves. Tying into the resource-development nexus, EGC focusses on the artisanal cobalt sector and aims “to clean up and formalize the sector in order to defend vulnerable communities”. While EGC increases the state’s access to cobalt, it also once again emphasizes mineral extraction as a potential driver of socio-political and economic development.

However, decolonial and legal pluralist scholars have demonstrated how the fixation on formalization through state-centric laws and institutions reflects colonial heritages of exploitation. Whereas EGC is presented as a game changer, a critical analysis is necessary to unveil if and how colonial and historical patterns of exploitation are possibly reinforced. This paper analyses how EGC fits into a ‘responsible sourcing assemblage’ and the extent to which a certain discourse is used to legitimize activities. Evaluating the relations between a responsible cobalt discourse, resource nationalism and legitimacy gives a new insight into the impact of responsible sourcing initiatives, while also creating the possibility to propose alternative pathways that prioritize local dynamics.