Cobalt is not a rare earth mineral + only a low single-digit fraction of our cobalt comes from Congo.

... and living conditions for most Congolese are still better than they used to be, even for the lowest 10%.

Well they're certainly better than we were mass harvesting their hands, but that's a low bar.

Or ever.

Not that it’s a fair comparison modern medicine and some (even on a minimal level) access to healthcare means that the majority of people who are alive now would’ve been dead.

Of course that’s certainly not the only thing.

"Artisanal" cobalt mining isn't the source of most of the worlds cobalt, it's an unregulated cowboy side trade that's hard to stamp out.

https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/top-cobalt-produci...

That said, horrific working conditions abound in today's modern world, another example being "call centre coolies", eg:

Inside the call centre scam that lured vulnerable workers to Cambodia and trapped them in the murky world of human trafficking

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-29/inside-call-centre-sc...

these places pop up all over the globe.