In the global race for cobalt, the film shows how local miners are countering global trade structures and preserving the knowledge of their ancestors.

In Mikuba, Congolese documentary filmmaker Petna Ndaliko Katondolo shows how local miners in a self-managed mining cooperative in Kolwezi in southern Congo are trying to take a different approach. They use traditional mining methods and distribute the profits differently. They are in search of cobalt, an indispensable raw material for computer chips, electromobility and renewable energies. In the shadow of multinational giants, the small-scale miners dig not only to survive, but also to preserve their dignity and their right to live on the land of their ancestors. The fearless trader Mama Léance is the central character of the film. She acts based on the knowledge and wisdom of her ancestors. The film shows how, within an exploitative system already shaped by the colonial era, a counter-narrative is created that (re)awakens the cultural and spiritual dimensions of the land.