"Some of the most coveted minerals on the planet are concentrated just under the surface and sprinkled throughout eastern Congo. Here lies tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold. The minerals that power the world’s handheld phones, guide its most advanced weapons, and the precious metal which undergirds the world’s sovereign reserves. One mine alone, in Rubaya in North Kivu, provides a substantial percentage of the coltan which refines into tantalum and that mine is administered, taxed, and operated by a rebel movement, not a government or corporation. It continues to churn out the product the world demands, a bit of which is in the device being used to read this very essay. A separate companion essay, “The Laundering,” will discuss the mechanics of this trade, how it works and why, but here the key consideration is the understanding of what the presence of this wealth has done to the region and the conflict raging above it."

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/09/africas-great-lakes-the-perpetual-violence-machine.html