The death toll from a landslide in a coltan mine in Rubaya, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is over 200 dead. This was reported by a civil society leader and local rebel authorities. The collapse occurred on Thursday in the mine in the Masisi territory, in the province of North Kivu, after light rain fell in the area.
«What happened here in Rubaya after Thursday’s rains is truly terrible. The number of corpses continues to increase. Yesterday we recovered 45 bodies from the mines, but as of this morning we have more than 200,” said Telesphore Nitendike, leader of the Masisi community. Among the victims, in addition to the miners, there are also traders who worked in the area, controlled by the rebels of the powerful March 23 Movement (M23), who also control the mine where the landslide occurred.
Coltan is a mineral from which tantalum is mainly obtained, an indispensable metal for producing electronic components such as the capacitors present in smartphones, computers and many technological devices. It is considered a strategic resource because it feeds global industrial supply chains and, in some areas of the world, its extraction has been linked to environmental and social risks and problems with traceability of origin.