At least 12 people have been confirmed dead at a coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, a mining source and civil society source said on Friday.
According to the sources, dozens more escaped from the artisanal mine when it collapsed on Thursday. However, the cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.
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Small, artisanal mines around the town of Rubaya produce around one-sixth of the world’s supply of coltan, a metallic ore crucial to the production of smartphones and other electronic devices.
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Since mid-2024, the M23 rebels have controlled the area and charged a tax of 15% on the value of that coltan production, rebel officials told Reuters.
