Intelligence Squared Are Lithium and Cobalt the New Oil? The Elements of Power, with Nicolas Niarchos
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Feb 25, 2026 
Nicolas Niarchos, investigative journalist and author of The Elements of Power, explores the geopolitics of battery metals. He traces cobalt from Congo to China, exposes colonial legacies in mining, and probes nickel, phosphate, and supply-chain accountability. Short, urgent conversations about green tech, human costs, and the scramble for resources.
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How Wealth Below Ground Leaves People Above Ground Poor
- The DRC is extremely resource-rich yet its people remain impoverished because extraction benefits elites and foreign companies.
- Nicolas Niarchos shows Dan Gertler and sanctioned deals funnelling royalties to powerful middlemen while local communities suffer.
Sustain Accountability Not Momentary Outrage
- Keep oversight consistent rather than episodic to prevent abuses re-entering supply chains.
- After Amnesty's 2016 report companies removed offenders, but firms like Huayu Cobalt later reappeared in supply chains.
The Cobalt Supply Chain Runs Through China
- Most Congolese cobalt is partially refined as hydroxide locally then shipped to China for final refining and battery assembly.
- Niarchos traces routes to ports like Durban and Dar es Salaam and refiners in Kunshan and Shenzhen tied to CATL and BYD.
