Coltan mined by armed rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is being smuggled out through Rwanda and fed into global supply chains, an NGO investigation said Wednesday.
Global Witness found that hundreds of tonnes of the key mineral used in smartphones, laptops and other key electronics were taken from mines controlled by the anti-government M23 group and moved across the border into Rwanda.
Since resurfacing in late 2021, the Rwanda-backed militia has seized large swathes of eastern DRC, a region rich in minerals but plagued by decades of violence.
In April 2024, the M23 took control of Rubaya, a major mining hub producing around 15 percent of the world’s coltan. It has since generated revenue by taxing mining and trade.
UN experts estimate about 120 tonnes of coltan were exported monthly to Rwanda between May and October 2024.
After a year-long investigation, Global Witness said smuggling had reached “unprecedented levels” and claimed to have “established the complicity of Rwandan officials”.
It also said Rwanda’s coltan exports have more than doubled in the last three years.
According to the NGO, “the conflict coltan is often mixed with local production” in Rwanda, masking its origins before being exported.
From there, shipments travel via ports in Tanzania and Kenya to processing plants in China and Kazakhstan, where coltan is turned into tantalum.
Tantalum is a crucial component in electronics, as well as in aerospace, defence and medical equipment.
“Conflict coltan may have unwittingly found its way to global brands including Microsoft, Vodafone, Sony, Amazon, Nvidia, LG Display, Ericsson, Toyota and Apple and into products we use every day,” the NGO said.
It added the current industry safeguards “failed to detect” conflict minerals, raising fresh questions over how well firms can track the origins of raw materials in their products.
clt/rh/pdw
MICROSOFT
Vodafone Group
Sony
Amazon.com
NVIDIA
LG DISPLAY
ERICSSON
TOYOTA MOTOR
Apple
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
