Battle for control of central African nation fuelled by increasing demand for minerals crucial in manufacture of smartphones and laptops
“The source of misery for the people of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo lies in the vast natural treasures beneath their feet,” said The Times. The region boasts a “dizzying array” of riches, such as gold and diamonds, but the “most coveted are the lesser known”: coltan, cobalt and other minerals “crucial in the production of laptops and smartphones”.
It is “no coincidence” that violence has increased alongside consumer demand for tech. But while the slogan “blood diamonds” helped to ease conflicts elsewhere in Africa, a “similarly murderous hunt for smart-tech minerals” has only intensified in the DRC, displacing seven million and “condemning a region to perpetual chaos”.
‘Horror show’
The DRC is the world’s largest producer of coltan, said Ecofin Agency, from which tantalum – indispensable for manufacturing phones and laptops – is extracted. Nearly 70% of the world’s tantalum comes from DRC and neighbouring Rwanda, according to the US Geological Survey. So the challenge, said The Times, is to ascertain how much of that tantalum comes from Rwanda, and how much from “conflict-ridden mining” in the DRC.
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