More than 200 people were killed in a landslide at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday. The Congolese Ministry of Mines reported this on Wednesday evening. About seventy children are said to be among the dead. The disaster was caused by heavy rainfall in the area.
The remote Rubaya mine is located in North Kivu province and has been under the control of the M23 rebels since 2024. Due to the rain, parts of the mine collapsed and several entrances were blocked. In addition to the deaths, an unknown number of people were also injured. Many of them have been taken to medical posts in the city of Goma. Emergency workers had difficulty reaching the disaster area.
The Rubaya mine is responsible for approximately 15 percent of the global production of coltan, an ore that is processed into tantalum. This heat-resistant metal is used in smartphones, computers and aviation components, among other things. Local residents mine by hand for a few dollars a day.
Critical raw materials
The mine is considered economically strategic and, according to the Reuters news agency, is on a list of mining assets that the Congolese government has offered to the United States in the context of cooperation on critical minerals.
At the end of January, more than two hundred people were killed in a similar collapse in the same mine. Eastern Congo has been the scene of armed struggle for resources for decades, with rebel groups using mines to finance their activities.
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