More than two hundred people were killed this week when a mine collapsed in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congolese rebel group M23 reported on Friday evening.
This concerns the Rubaya coltan mine, which accounts for approximately 15 percent of global coltan production. The mineral is processed into the heat-resistant metal tantalum, which is widely used in mobile phones, computers, aviation parts and gas turbines, among others.
The mine, controlled by the M23 rebels since 2024, collapsed on Wednesday. Local residents mine by hand for a few dollars a day. The exact death toll is not yet known, but an advisor to the governor of the area speaks to the Reuters news agency of at least 227 deaths.
According to the United Nations, M23 is plundering Rubaya’s income to finance its uprising against the government in Kinshasa. The heavily armed rebels conquered even more mineral-rich areas in eastern Congo last year.
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