By Maya Homsy King
Ebola, bubonic plague, COVID-19, guerilla wars, political turmoil and poverty are some of the main ingredients that make up the recent chaos in certain regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). One may assume that the country’s richness in valuable minerals including gold, copper, tantalum, tungsten, coltan and cobalt would bring positive economic change, however this wealth seems cursed. For years, the extraction of these resources has been linked to conflict, human rights abuses and corruption.
Luwowo Coltan mine near Rubaya, North Kivu the 18th of March 2014. © MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti
To provide a more holistic picture of the situation in the DRC, a brief description of the conflicts is necessary. Over a hundred armed groups are thought to be operating in the eastern parts of the DRC. The conflict originated after the Rwandan genocide in 1994, when Hutu groups moved to the eastern DRC and formed armed groups. Consequently, opposition groups formed, including Tutsi and other rebels, which the government proved unable to control. A war, known as the Second Congo War was fought with support from neighboring countries to try and quell these rebels, with limited long-term success, as weak infrastructure and widespread corruption still reigns. In the wake of the war, one of the most prominent rebel groups emerged; the March 23 Movement, or M23, composed mostly of ethnic Tutsi rebelling against the Congolese government. They were defeated in 2013, but as seems to be the pattern, other armed groups have emerged since.
The headlines in the news have often implicated Coltan, an ore from which the elements tantalum and niobium are extracted from, as the main culprit in funding armed groups in the DRC. Tantalum is the most valuable in this case, as it is used in smartphones, laptops, and medical equipment, and along with tin, tungsten and gold, is listed as a conflict mineral. As useful and now essential as these minerals are to our present lives, they come at a cost, and one that doesn’t solely come out of our own pockets. These involve the destruction of the habitats of mountain gorillas, child labor and indeed, the funding of armed groups. A HCSS report however, states that coltan accounts for much less of this funding than is implied by the media. The fame and notoriety that Coltan had, and still has, is disproportionate to its actual role in facilitating conflict.
There is truth to these reports however; force has been used by armed groups in reaping the economic benefits of the minerals. This has been seen in the form of forced labor, pillaging, taxation, fees, and a monopoly on exports. The long duration of the conflict in the DRC has increased the need for funding, therefore perpetuating these methods. A study in 2009 reported that approximately 50% of the mines in the North and South Kivu regions of Congo were controlled by armed groups, not excluding the Congolese army. Although this may seem like grounds to assume that these minerals are a leading factor in perpetuating the conflict, it is difficult to disentangle the other factors at play, and thus determine its absolute role in the violence. It cannot be said for sure whether the minerals are the root of the conflict, or whether the profits gained from them simply serve to prolong it.
The presence of multiple rebel groups, weak governance and infrastructure, and widespread poverty, coupled with the availability of highly valuable minerals, has proven to be a lethal concoction. However, Coltan cannot be labelled as the main instigator of conflict in the DRC. It may be an important factor, and indeed may enable the continuation of the conflict, but the issue is multifaceted and has its roots in violence that took place long ago.
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