Congo's grim coltan mines
The rare metal is key in the production of smartphones, laptops and EV batteries. But those mining sought-after coltan in Congo's North Kivu region face hardship and exploitation.
New black gold
Coltan is an inconspicuous black ore mixture that mainly contains tantalum and niobium. These metals are essential for the electronics industry, particularly for capacitors in smartphones, computers and other electronic devices. Coltan is also important in defense technology and is considered a strategically important raw material worldwide.
Rural center of global tech
Mining is often associated with problems such as environmental destruction and conflict. In Rubaya, a resource-rich region in eastern Congo, there have been violent clashes between the government and militias for decades.
Who controls coltan?
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi is seeking an agreement with the US, giving the Americans access to natural resources in exchange for military support against insurgent militias. The region has long been plagued by conflict. The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels are currently wrestling with the government for control in North Kivu, exacerbating the already precarious humanitarian situation.
Neglected and forgotten
Access roads to Rubaya are barely passable, with people fighting their way through deep mud to bring food to the remote town. Like the roads, the region itself is neglected and forgotten. It gives no hint of its central importance for the global economy, which is hungry for coltan.
High demand, low wages
While demand for coltan is high, this is not reflected in the wages of the people who mine it. "I earn $40 a month, but that's not enough. Children need clothes, education and food," a miner in Rubaya told The Washington Post.
'We can't continue like this'
In addition to low wages, there are health risks. "The whole country, the whole world knows that phones are made from the coltan mined here, but look at the life we live," said trader Bahati Moise. "We can't continue like this."
Helping hands
While the men toil in the quarries, the women in Rubaya keep the community going. They cook, trade, do the housework — without them, the mining operation would collapse. But their work takes place even more in the shadows.
Mining must be valued, say workers
The global coltan boom is generating billions — but very little reaches the people who mine it. Trader Moise said the workers must be valued just as much as the resource itself.