In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the use of mobile phones and cell phones has become a major issue in the conflict

The Associated Press

The city, bordering Rwanda, is a regional centre for the mining business What’s the fighting in DR Congo all about?
Over the past year, the M23 has made rapid advances across the mineral-rich east of DR Congo, taking areas where coltan – the ore from which tantalum is extracted – is mined.
So the traders then go around eastern DR Congo and they tag the bags themselves.”
So even then, Rwanda was profiting from the instability in eastern DR Congo and we saw the export volumes to Rwanda were already increasing,” he told the BBC.
More BBC stories on the conflict in DR Congo: Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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The conflict in DR Congo, your phone, and a rare metal.

A decade ago.

Damian Zane.

the BBC News.

A tiny quantity of a metal that began its journey buried in the ground of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a war is raging, is probably present in your cell phone.

It might even have a direct link to the M23 rebel group, which made headlines around the world this week.

Your device’s tantalum, which weighs less than half of a typical garden pea, is necessary for a smartphone and nearly all other high-tech electronic devices to operate effectively.

Tiny capacitors, which temporarily store energy, are made possible by the special qualities of this rare, blue-grey, lustrous metal, which include the ability to hold a high charge relative to its size and function in a range of temperatures.

Although it is mined in Rwanda, Brazil, and Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo provides at least 40%, if not more, of the world’s supply of the element, and the M23 currently controls some of the most important mining regions.

Although the current conflict has been raging for months, the rebels’ attack on Goma, a crucial trading and transportation hub, on Sunday garnered media attention. The city, which borders Rwanda, serves as a regional hub for the mining industry.

How is the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen the M23 make swift advances in the last year, capturing regions used for the mining of coltan, the ore used to extract tantalum.

The M23 started out as a group protecting the rights of an ethnic group that was thought to be in danger, just like countless other armed groups that are active in the region. However, mining has grown to be an essential source of revenue as its territory has grown, helping to pay for weapons and fighters.

Rubaya, the town at the center of the nation’s coltan industry, was taken by it last April.

The extraction of minerals in this area is not controlled by multinational corporations; rather, thousands of people work in hazardous and unhealthy underground conditions or in open pits that are scattered throughout the landscape.

They are a part of an intricate, albeit unofficial, network that uses shovels to clear the rocks from the ground, bring them to the surface, crush them, wash them, tax them, sell them, and then export them for further purification and eventual melting.

Following the M23’s arrival in Rubaya, the rebels set up what a UN panel of experts called a “state-like administration,” granting permits to the traders and diggers and requiring an annual fee of $250 and $25 (£20), respectively. In order to keep the diggers working, the M23 doubled their pay.

It controls the market as a monopoly, ensuring that only its approved merchants can conduct business by threatening to arrest and detain them.

In addition, the M23 levies a $7 fee per kilogram of coltan. According to the UN panel of experts, the M23 receives roughly $800,000 per month from Rubaya’s coltan taxes. The rebellion is most likely then financed with that money.

The importation of ore from M23-controlled regions into the global supply chain is a matter of uncertainty.

The UN experts believe that the key to the solution lies in neighboring Rwanda, which is thought to support the M23.

The Innovative Tin Supply Chain Initiative (Itsci) is a certification program that, in theory, should ensure that the materials used to make phones and other electronics do not originate in conflict zones where they could be used to finance armed groups that commit atrocities.

To make sure that businesses buying tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold—so-called “conflict minerals”—are not unintentionally financing violence, the US passed the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 and the EU passed a similar law.

However, There have been some criticisms of Itsci.

It is challenging for local authorities to keep a close eye on everything because many small-scale mines are dispersed, according to Ken Matthysen, a security and resource management specialist with the independent research group Ipis.

Itsci tags should be placed on bags at the mine to demonstrate the provenance of the minerals within, but frequently they are taken to a collection point, making it more difficult to determine the ore’s true origin, according to Mr. Matthysen.

He went on to say that corruption might also be a problem.

“State agents are even accused of selling tags to traders because they don’t earn enough money. The merchants then proceed to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and tag the bags themselves. “.

A request for comment from the BBC was not answered by Itsci, but the company has previously defended its record by claiming that the program has undergone a thorough independent audit. Additionally, “prosperity for hundreds of thousands of small-scale miners” is another of its lauded benefits.

the proof that Rwanda is supporting rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Shortly after the M23 arrived in Rubaya, Itsci halted operations there.

The organization has nevertheless been able to keep exporting coltan.

To illustrate how it is transported to near the Rwandan border, the UN experts draw a convoluted route. The road had to be widened to make room for “heavy-duty trucks” after that.

Experts claim that although Rwanda has its own coltan mines, the uncertified coltan is mixed with Rwandan production, causing “significant contamination of supply chains.”.

Mr. Matthysen claims that the M23 was already running the coltan business prior to Rubaya’s capture, erecting roadblocks and charging to pass them.

“A large portion of the trade in these minerals passed through areas controlled by the M23 on its way to Rwanda. Therefore, even at that time, Rwanda was benefiting from the unrest in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we observed that exports to Rwanda were already rising,” he told the BBC.

The US Geological Survey reports that between 2022 and 2023, Rwanda’s exports of coltan increased by 50%. This couldn’t have all come from Rwanda, according to Mr. Matthysen.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo defended the country’s position forcefully, telling the BBC that her own nation had the capacity to refine and mine minerals.

When a persecuted community is fighting for its rights in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, it’s a very cynical issue. and transforming [it] into a matter of tangible gain,” she continued.

Additionally, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has scorned the UN experts’ “expertise” and rejected their reports.

Questions have been raised about who has benefited and whether armed groups are making money off of the earth that has been dug up in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for many years.

At the end of the previous year, the Congolese government accused Apple subsidiaries of using “conflict minerals” in criminal complaints against them in France and Belgium, drawing attention to the problem and its link to the smartphone industry.

Apple has refuted the claim, pointing out that it has stopped sourcing tantalum and other metals from both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo since early 2024 due to the intensifying conflict and certification challenges.

As the M23 gains more territory, those tiny tantalum fragments from the mines under their control may still find their way into the gadgets we have grown to depend on because other businesses have not been as transparent.

Additional BBC coverage of the DR Congo conflict:.

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