Congo’s conflict mineral lands the world’s largest tech company in court

An advocacy group in the United States has filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company is using conflict-linked cobalt from Congo, which Apple has denied.

The tech company, which refuted the claim, noted that it had halted the use of any such materials from countries like the DRC and Rwanda.

The company “strongly disputes” the allegations that it profits from forced labor and dangerous mining operations in Africa, rejecting the charges and labelling it as “baseless.”

They noted that this has been the case since 2024, when conflict in the region between Congo forces and M23 rebels escalated.

As seen on Reuters, Apple disclosed that its cobalt supply comes from recycled sources, which ties into the company’s sustainability goals.

Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct enforces “the industry’s strongest sourcing standards,” and pledges continued transparency in public reporting, the spokesman added.

In a complaint filed on Tuesday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, IRAdvocates, a Washington-based nonprofit that intends to use litigation to stop breaches of human rights, argued that Apple’s supply chain still includes cobalt, tin, tantalum, and tungsten that are linked to armed groups in the Congo and Rwanda, as well as child and forced labor.

However, Apple has consistently refuted these claims, revealing that 76% of the cobalt in its devices was recycled in 2024.

Chinese smelters, Ningxia Orient, Jiujiang JinXin, and Jiujiang Tanbre, have been accused in the complaint of processing columbite-tantalite metallic ore, or coltan, which U.N. and Global Witness investigators claim was smuggled through Rwanda after armed groups seized mines in eastern Congo.

Apple’s supply chain is connected to the material in the case.