How our gadgets cause death in the Congo
Posted April 9, 2008
This story is about how coltan, a substance used in our computers, cell phones and DVDs has been killing gorillas, humans, elephants and other wildlife in the Congo.
and the subsequent
arrest of the former chief of the park.
The park has been under siege for over a decade by various rebel groups
and by traders who destroy the forests to make charcoal.
It appears that the killings were motivated by the easternCongo
It is confusing to piece together stories on theCongo Congo
The war in theCongo started in 1994
after the Rwanda genocide
when the Hutu militias, Interahamwe, who massacred Rwandans, were pushed over
the Congo Africa ’s First
World War” at times involving nine other countries. According to a 2004 survey, almost 4 million
people have died.
Africa ’s First
World War has also included a war against women with widespread rape. You can
learn more about this from this 60 Minutes segment. (War Against Women: The Use of Rape as a Weapon in Congo’s Civil War)
While a peace accord was reached in 2003, the conflict continues in vast regions of the country.
Looting the country’s enormous mineral resources has always been behind the conflict according to the United Nations. This brings us back to how our gadgets kill gorillas, elephants and other wildlife, create poverty, child labour and fuel war. Like the charcoal issue, rebels have been clearing out large chunks ofDRC
Coltan mining
The region for coltan mining in the DRC includes the main ranges for the Eastern Lowland Gorilla. A great deal of coltan has been mined illegally mined and smuggled over the eastern border by militias fromUganda ,
Burundi and Rwanda
The UN Environment Program has reported that the number of Eastern Lowland Gorillas in eight DRC national parks has declined by 90% over the past five years, and only 3,000 now remain.
InKahuzi National
Park
Because it is difficult to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate mining operations, several electronics manufacturers now rely on coltan from other sources.
Some electronics and cellphone companies,(Samsung, Nokia and Motorola) have publicly rejected the use of coltan from anywhere in Central Africa, instead relying on their main suppliers inAustralia ,
and American-based Kemet, has asked its suppliers to certify that their coltan
ore does not come from Congo
If readers have more information on the current state of the illegal coltan trade in the Congo, please leave a comment.
For more information:
2006 Video on Utube: Pulitzer Center's Congo's Bloody Coltan
Visit the Virunga Youth Alliance blog from Wildlife Direct
Congo's Tragedy: The War The World Forgot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltan
Suite 101: Child Labour: the Congo's Big Sin
Pambazuka News: In Search of Congo's Coltan
UN Coltan Explainer
Coltan, Gorillas and cellphones
Remarks by Stephen Lewis published in Pambazuka News - Congo's rape and sexual violence: UN's delinquency
Stephen Lewis Foundation site
If you want to learn about the Congo and to understand why many of us are complicit in creating the problems there, there are two great books:
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild and
In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobuto’s Congo by Michela Wrong
Update: April 22, 2008
Tin Ore, the alternative to Coltan?
Congo
Financial Times, March 5, 2008, click here to read
"Some of the world's best known consumer electronics companies are examining their supply chains after discovering that tin from a mine controlled by renegade soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo is reaching international markets."
The Cassiterite Crisis - How Tech Boom Fuels Human Rights Risk in Africa
BNET Business Network, March 7, 2008, click here to read
"
This story is about how coltan, a substance used in our computers, cell phones and DVDs has been killing gorillas, humans, elephants and other wildlife in the Congo.
It appears that the killings were motivated by the eastern
It is confusing to piece together stories on the
The war in the
While a peace accord was reached in 2003, the conflict continues in vast regions of the country.
Looting the country’s enormous mineral resources has always been behind the conflict according to the United Nations. This brings us back to how our gadgets kill gorillas, elephants and other wildlife, create poverty, child labour and fuel war. Like the charcoal issue, rebels have been clearing out large chunks of
Coltan mining
The region for coltan mining in the DRC includes the main ranges for the Eastern Lowland Gorilla. A great deal of coltan has been mined illegally mined and smuggled over the eastern border by militias from
The UN Environment Program has reported that the number of Eastern Lowland Gorillas in eight DRC national parks has declined by 90% over the past five years, and only 3,000 now remain.
In
Because it is difficult to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate mining operations, several electronics manufacturers now rely on coltan from other sources.
Some electronics and cellphone companies,(Samsung, Nokia and Motorola) have publicly rejected the use of coltan from anywhere in Central Africa, instead relying on their main suppliers in
If readers have more information on the current state of the illegal coltan trade in the Congo, please leave a comment.
For more information:
2006 Video on Utube: Pulitzer Center's Congo's Bloody Coltan
Visit the Virunga Youth Alliance blog from Wildlife Direct
Congo's Tragedy: The War The World Forgot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltan
Suite 101: Child Labour: the Congo's Big Sin
Pambazuka News: In Search of Congo's Coltan
UN Coltan Explainer
Coltan, Gorillas and cellphones
Remarks by Stephen Lewis published in Pambazuka News - Congo's rape and sexual violence: UN's delinquency
Stephen Lewis Foundation site
If you want to learn about the Congo and to understand why many of us are complicit in creating the problems there, there are two great books:
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild and
In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobuto’s Congo by Michela Wrong
Update: April 22, 2008
Tin Ore, the alternative to Coltan?
I left off this piece without a clear resolution on where
things stand now. Much to my surprise, an answer seems to have come as a
magazine insert with the morning paper in an article called Coltan and the Congo published in the
premiere issue of a new Canadian men’s magazine, Sharp.
The article concludes by stating that because of coltan’s
price collapse and its reputation, companies have switched to another material.
Tin oxide is the new substance used in electronic gadgets and its price has
increased dramatically.
A recent Financial Times
article is cited which states that major electronics companies in the U.S.
Japan and Korea have been forced to examine the supply chain for the tin ore, (also
called cassiterite), as tin ore is being mined by the renegade faction of the
Congolese army and is reaching international markets.
The article also briefly discusses the clandestine nature
of these operations in the
I found some other references citing the same issues with
child labour and horrendous working conditions for miners.
Financial Times, March 5, 2008, click here to read
"Some of the world's best known consumer electronics companies are examining their supply chains after discovering that tin from a mine controlled by renegade soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo is reaching international markets."
The Cassiterite Crisis - How Tech Boom Fuels Human Rights Risk in Africa
BNET Business Network, March 7, 2008, click here to read
"
For a slide show of conditions in cassiterite mining, click on link below.
http://www.markcraemer.com/
Thanks for providing this lucid post on the current situation and it is a huge relief to know that major companies are doing their bit. Whilst the coltan mining may be under control, there is no question that mining of minerals and metals in Congo is causing huge destruction to the environment and enslaving thousands of people, including children. All this goes unchecked generally.
The Virunga Youth Alliance blog on WildlifeDirect.org is covering this issue closely and will be providing direct information from the ground
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Colleen, three weeks the government gave an ultimatum to illegal coltan digger operating in Walikale mines at about 400km from Goma town. We noticed that the illegal traffic still keep on going. Now, we found a path that will currently lead us to clear situation. We met a coltan buyer today morning in goma suburbs.He promised to share with us much more about his business this Saturday.He mentioned this:If you want to make money in walikale mines use very young boys. Adults are complicated.
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Thank you so much Balemba for providing that information. It is good to hear you are finding out information from people about the illegal trade and the preference for child labour. I wonder who is buying this coltan and which manufacturers and products it is going into. We look forward to hearing more from you after your meeting on Saturday. Warm wishes to you.
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