GOMA, Congo: At least 200 people were killed earlier this week when a landslide collapsed several artisanal mines at a major coltan mining site in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, rebel authorities said on Saturday.
The collapse occurred on Wednesday at the Rubaya mines, controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, according to Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu province. He said heavy rainfall triggered the landslide.
“For now, there are more than 200 dead, some of whom are still in the mud and have not yet been recovered,” Muyisa told The Associated Press. He added that several people were injured and taken to health facilities in Rubaya, with ambulances expected to transfer the wounded to Goma, about 50 kilometres away.
The rebel-appointed governor has temporarily halted artisanal mining at the site and ordered the relocation of residents who had built makeshift shelters near the mines, Muyisa said.
Rubaya lies in the mineral-rich eastern region of Congo, which has been plagued for decades by violence involving government forces and multiple armed groups. The recent resurgence of the M23 rebellion has intensified fighting, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis.
The Rubaya area is of global economic importance, supplying more than 15 percent of the world’s tantalum — a rare metal derived from coltan and widely used in smartphones, computers, and aircraft engines.
In May 2024, M23 seized control of Rubaya and its mines. A United Nations report says that since then, the group has imposed taxes on the coltan trade and transport, generating at least $800,000 a month.
Eastern Congo remains one of the world’s most protracted conflict zones, with more than seven million people displaced, including around 100,000 who fled their homes this year alone.
Despite a deal signed between the Congolese and Rwandan governments — brokered by the United States — and ongoing negotiations involving rebel groups, fighting continues across several fronts in eastern Congo, claiming civilian and military lives. The agreement also opens access to Congo’s critical minerals for the US government and American companies.
