Global economy

15% of a mobile is made of copper and it’s used for the chipboards, cables, plugs and batteries. Copper is extracted in large mines using explosions. A giant dust cloud shaped like a bell which hangs permanently over the mine is produced by this process. The largest copper mine is called Chuquicamata. 15,000 people work on an area of 120 km² there. This mine is in South America. The country in which it is to be found is very long and lies entirely along the Andes (the largest mountain range in South America). It borders Peru to the North and Bolivia and Argentina to the East.

Coltan is a very rare mineral which is used to make the chipboards used in mobile phones. Most coltan can be found in a particular region in Africa. In this region two countries in which civil war has raged for years border each other. Both groups own mines and dig illegally for coltan. This generates money for new weapons. In the mines forced child labour is not unusual and the work is dangerous: The pit shafts are deep, dark and humid and the shifts are long.

This country lies in the heart of Africa on the equator. It was named after the largest river which flows through it. In addition it borders 9 different countries. Three of them are Angola, Zambia and Tanzania.

Gold is only to be found in very small quantities in mobile phones, in the contacts and ports. It is extracted mainly in Africa. This country borders two oceans simultaneously, Tip: The 2010 football world cup took place there.

Silver is needed for chipboards and keyboards. It is primarily extracted in Siberia. This region lies in the largest country in the world. Its surface area is so large that it stretches from Europe to the Pacific Ocean.