Looks like a fix to their Congo supply chain issue. Our Lithium could be heading to Apple?
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According to a joint Amnesty International and African Resources Watch report,[5] Congo DongFang International Mining, a subsidiary of Huayou Cobalt, sources cobalt from primitive "artisanal" mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where there are few worker protections and child labor has been employed.[6][7]Apple Inc. said that approximately 20% of the lithium in Apple's batteries were sourced from Huayou Cobalt.[6]
In response, Huayou Cobalt admits to having "insufficient awareness of supply chain management", and did not know that buying artisanal cobalt would increase child labor.[8]
In 2016, Apple said that starting in 2017, they will treat cobalt as a conflict mineral, and require all cobalt suppliers to agree to outside supply-chain audits and risk assessments.[8] After a 2017 Sky News follow-up that showed that child labor continued to be utilized,[9] Apple said it stopped buying cobalt mined by hand in DRC entirely.[
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