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Most people know the term “conflict diamond“. Made popular by the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond highlights the diamond trade in central Africa and the implications the trade has on the local populous. (I also recommend the movie) What many people don’t know about is a substance used in many of our everyday items such as cell phones, DVD players and laptops. Coltan. Made from the minerals columbite and tantalite, hence coltan. 80% of the world’s supply is found in the DRC.
From Wikipedia:
The Congo is a politically unstable area. The Rwandan occupation in the east of the Congo has meant the DRC has been unable to exploit the resource for its own benefit. A recent UN Security Council report[4] charged that a great deal of the ore is mined illegally and smuggled over the country’s eastern borders by militias from neighbouring Uganda,Burundi and Rwanda.[5]
Coltan smuggling has also been implicated as a major source of income for the military occupation of Congo. To many, this raises ethical questions akin to those of conflict diamonds. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate mining operations, several electronics manufacturers have decided to forgo central African coltan altogether, relying on other sources.[citation needed] The high-tech industry’s demand for tantalum clearly has fueled an increase in coltan mining worldwide – including in the Congo region.
All three countries named by the United Nations as smugglers of coltan have denied being involved. Austrianjournalist Klaus Werner has documented links between multi-national companies like Bayer and the illegal coltan traffic.[6] Likewise has Johann Hari written on the connections between coltan resources and the genocide in Congo.[7][8] A United Nations committee investigating the plunder of gems and minerals in the Congo listed in its final report[4] approximately 125 companies and individuals involved in business activities breaching international norms. Companies accused of irresponsible corporate behavior are for example Cabot Corporation, Eagle Wings Resources International,[9] George Forrest Group[10] and OM Group.[11]
With prices that have peaked at US$600 per kilo, it makes for a highly exploitable mineral in an unstable area. Besides the devastation caused by this mineral by Multi-national corporations looking to exploit the conflicts in the area, the environment has also taken a heavy toll. The Eastern Lowland Gorillas and many of the National parks have been destroyed to make way for coltan mining.
The main area where Coltan is mined, also contains the Kahuzi Biega National Park, home of the Mountain Gorilla. In Kahuzi Biega National Park the gorilla population has been cut nearly in half, from 258 to 130 as the ground is cleared to make mining easier. Not only has this reduced the available food for the Gorillas, the poverty caused by the displacement of the local populations by the miners has lead to Gorillas being killed and their meat being sold as “bush meat” to the miners and rebel armies that control the area. Within the Dem. Rep. of Congo as a whole, the U.N. Environment Program has reported that the number of eastern lowland gorillas in eight Dem. Rep. of Congo national parks has declined by 90% over the past 5 years, and only 3,000 now remain.
I think it is important to be aware of all exploitation. Pressure on our elected officials when they do business with countries or with corporations that allow exploitation will hopefully help to curb some of the atrocities around out world. But first, awareness. Too often with us, it is “out of sight, out of mind”.
1 Comment
May 29, 2008 at 8:44 am
Excellent post BlueDahlia. Thanks for putting it up. I watched “Blood Diamond” and it affected me deeply. I had no idea..