倫敦金屬交易所調查童工採礦投訴

One of the City of London’s oldest institutions has launched an investigation into whether cobalt mined by child labour is trading on its exchange, following complaints it is allowing a Chinese company to sell untraceable supplies of the metal widely used in mobile phones and electric vehicles.

倫敦金融城歷史最悠久的機構之一針對其交易的的鈷是否由童工開採展開調查。此前有人投訴稱，該交易所允許一家中國公司銷售無法追蹤來源的鈷，這種金屬廣泛應用於手機和電動車。

Members of the 140-year-old London Metal Exchange initially raised concerns about questionable cobalt this summer, highlighting their fears the rechargeable battery material may have come from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo accused of employing children.

有140年曆史的倫敦金屬交易所(LME)的成員最初在今夏就來源可疑的鈷表示關切，強調他們擔心這種充電電池原料可能來自剛果民主共和國境內被指使用童工的礦場。

Earlier this month, the LME quietly sent a directive to all suppliers asking them to detail how they guarantee “responsible sourcing” of commodities traded on the exchange. The notice, contained in email seen by the Financial Times, requests a response by December 1.

本月早些時候，LME悄悄向所有供應商發出指示，要求他們詳細說明自己如何保證在該交易所交易的大宗商品來自“負責任的來源”。英國《金融時報》看到的這封郵件通知，要求供應商在12月1日前做出迴應。

The LME is the world’s most important venue for industrial metals and helps set prices for copper, tin and other metals. If tainted cobalt is found in its network of warehouses it could trigger a backlash from users of the exchange.

LME是全球最重要的工業金屬交易所，幫助爲銅、錫等金屬定價。如果其倉庫被發現存在來源可疑的鈷，那可能會引發該交易所用戶的強烈反彈。

Groups such as Amnesty International say children as young as seven are mining cobalt by hand in the DRC, one of the world’s poorest countries. The allegations have put pressure on companies such as Tesla and Apple to ensure cobalt in their battery-run products is traceable to reputable mines.

大赦國際(Amnesty International)等組織表示，在世界最貧窮國家之一的剛果民主共和國，年僅7歲的兒童在用手工開採鈷礦。這些指控給特斯拉(Tesla)、蘋果(Apple)等公司施加了壓力，要求它們確保各自靠電池運行的產品所用的鈷可追溯至聲譽較好的礦場。

More than half the world’s cobalt comes from the DRC, where up to one-fifth is extracted by so-called Artisanal miners, who dig by hand in deep tunnels. Artisanal mines are more likely to employ child labour, according to Amnesty.

全球一半以上的鈷來自剛果民主共和國，而該國多達五分之一的鈷是由手工採礦者在地下深處的礦井巷道中手工挖掘開採出的。大赦國際表示，手工採礦的礦場更有可能僱用童工。

Cobalt prices have risen by more than 80 per cent this year as carmakers step up electric vehicle production. Material mined in the DRC is largely sent to China for processing.

隨着汽車製造商紛紛擴大電動車生產規模，今年以來鈷價上漲了逾80%。在剛果民主共和國開採的原料大部分被運至中國進行加工。

The LME notice, sent 12 days ago, said its inquiry was part of a broader push to address responsible sourcing and was “not related to any particular producer or brand”. Two traders said, however, the request came only after they had made complaints to the LME about the traceability of specific cobalt supplies.

LME在12天前發出的這份通知稱，這項調查是解決負責任來源的整體努力的一部分，“不針對任何特定生產商或品牌”。然而，兩家交易商表示，只是在他們就特定鈷供應的可追溯性提出投訴後，LME才發出上述請求。

“[W]e would expect that any specific concerns will be addressed as part of our existing efforts and we look forward to engaging with the market further on this important topic,” the LME email said.

LME在電郵中稱：“我們期望，任何特定擔憂都將得到應對，作爲我們現有努力的一部分，我們期待在這個重要話題上進一步與市場接觸。”

The two traders said concerns arose this summer when metal produced by Yantai Cash Industrial, a Shandong-based producer, appeared on the exchange. They said many market participants believe Yantai Cash sources some of its unrefined cobalt from artisanal DRC mines that carry a higher risk of using child labour.

這兩家交易商表示，總部位於山東的煙臺凱實工業有限公司(Yantai Cash Industrial)生產的鈷今夏出現在該交易所，引發各方關切。他們稱，許多市場參與者相信，煙臺凱實的一部分鈷原料來自剛果民主共和國手工開採的鈷礦，而這些礦場使用童工的可能性較高。

Concern they might receive Yantai Cash metal has recently caused cobalt on the LME to price at a discount to other sources, traders said. While LME metal must meet certain quality standards, buyers cannot choose the source of the material, which is delivered from the exchange’s own warehouses.

對於鈷可能來自煙臺凱實的擔憂，已導致LME的鈷價相對於其他來源存在折扣。雖然在LME交易的金屬必須達到一定的質量標準，但買家無法選擇材料來源，這些材料是從交易所自己的倉庫交貨的。

Yantai Cash executives said they have begun an inquiry into the concerns.

煙臺凱實的高管稱，他們已開始對此類擔憂進行調查。

“Some of our customers have asked us to do due diligence investigation on the supply chain to see if [the chain] has child labour or human rights problems,” said Yantai Cash’s deputy head of international trade. “We have started doing that.”

“我們的一些客戶已經要求我們對供應鏈進行盡職調查，以覈實（供應鏈）是否存在童工或人權問題，”煙臺凱實的國際貿易副主管表示，“我們已經開始這樣做了。”

The LME has broad regulatory control over metal on the exchange, but has no specific rule governing sourcing. Some of the world’s biggest miners including Glencore and China Molybdenum also operate in the DRC using large-scale machinery.

LME對在該交易所交易的金屬擁有廣泛的監管控制，但對來源沒有具體規定。包括嘉能可(Glencore)、洛陽鉬業(China Molybdenum)在內的全球最大一些礦商，也在剛果民主共和國採礦，它們使用大型機械。

“We have strict guidelines and criteria for brands wishing to list their products on the LME,” the exchange said. “Any evidence of sub-standard practices that fall short of our requirements would be investigated by the LME and action would be taken.”

“我們對希望在LME掛牌產品的品牌有嚴格的指導方針和標準，”該交易所表示，“達不到我們要求的、低於標準的做法的任何證據，都將受到LME調查，並採取相應行動。”