Computer Industry Impacts on the Environment and Society: Coltan Mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Computer Industry Impacts on the Environment and Society

HomeIntroduction: TwoParadigmsColtan Mining inDemocratic Republic of theCongoManufacturing andDemographicsE-WasteLeverage Points &ConclusionReferences

Coltan Mining in the Democratic Republic ofCongo

Coltan is the name for columbo-tantalite mined in Africa. It is a crucial raw material for the production of modern

electonics. When refined, the ore becomes tantalum, which is particularly well-suited for use in electric capacitors, because of itsability to hold high electic charges. (Burge & Hayes, 2002) Coltan is used in cellular phones, computers, jet engines, missiles,ships, and weapons systems. (Montague, 2002) Without coltan the digital age economy would grind to a halt.

Outisde of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, coltan mining takesplace in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Burundi, and Rwanda. Other nations,such as Russia, are rich in the resource, but have not exploited their deposits.Australia produces 60% of the world’s tantalum, but the world’s largest reservesare in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Burge & Hayes, 2002) In fact, Africaaccounts for four-fifths of the world’s tantalum. (Montague, 2002)

Sixty-four percent of the world’s reserves of coltan are in DemocraticRepublic of the Congo (DRC), a nation racked by poverty and war. (Montague,2002) Rapidly increasing consumption of electronics in developed nations in2000 depleted tantalum stockpiles. (Burge & Hayes, 2002) Coltan prices soaredto $500 per pound, as free-market forces sought to correct the balance of supplyand demand. (US Geological Survey, 2001) This free market correction came atacute environmental and human costs.

The extraction of coltan is a process that heavily influences thesurrounding environment. Coltan is found in high concentration within theboundaries of Kahuzi Biega National Park, home of a rich tropical forestecosystem. In 2001 more than 10,000 men, women, and children moved tomining camps in Kahuzi Biega National Park, motivated by the rare opportunityto earn a living wage. (Redmond, 2001) Miners depended on the forest for

Computer Industry Impacts on the Environment and Society: Coltan Mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo

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sustenance, and relied on bushmeat for animal protein. The implications for localbiodiversity, especially large mammals, were devastating. Estimates of elephantand lowland gorilla mortalities are 3,700 and 8,000 respectively. (Redmond,2001) The strain put on wildlife by over-hunting was compounded by habitat lossdue to deforestation. Forests were cleared to set up mines and camps. Just assevere as the initial deforestation was the sustained exploitation of wood for fuel.

Human CostsMining for coltan is such a profitable industry, compared to other opportunities in the DRC, that workers are willing to

compromise their human rights. Child labor is an increasing problem in the region. Children in the Democratic Republic ofCongo are leaving their studies, often with their families, while embracing the ‘get-rich-quick’ attitude of much of the population. One school reported a drop in attendance of about 30 percent (Redmond, 2001).

Rwanda and Uganda invaded the Dominican Republic of Congo in August 1998. The primary motivation for this invasionwas to gain control of the abundance of natural resources the country was known to obtain. Uganda and Rwanda played a largerole in the creation of the Rally for Congolese Democracy, which had now spun off into several major rebel groups: RCD-Goma,RCD-Kisingani, and the Congolese Liberation Front (Montague, 2002). These rebel groups are motivated more by economic reasons than the pursuit of political standards. Acknowledgingthat the official defense budgets of both Rwanda and Uganda do not cover the cost of the conflict, Paul Kagame, the President ofRwanda, describes the war as “self financing,” (Montague, 2002). This financing he is referring to includes the mining of coltan. This has been evident in the global shortage of coltan that coincided with the second invasion of the Democratic of Congo.

The amount of fighting that actually takes place between Rwanda and Uganda themselves had increased in the “coltanbelt.” This term refers to a stretch of land rich in the mineral, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Resulting fromthis fighting has been tension of ethnic relations, entire community devastation, and in one area a significant loss in Biodiversity(Montague, 2002).

In the DRC, workers sacrificed environmental integrity to enter the global system in hopes of achieving affluence. Compared with the enormous profit made by electronic companies, miners were poorly compensated for their labor. (Hardin,2001) Rising consumer demand for luxury electronics in developed nations exacerbated environmental injustices for the people

Computer Industry Impacts on the Environment and Society: Coltan Mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo

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of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ARCGIS Illustration

Computer Industry Impacts on the Environment and Society: Coltan Mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo

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This map shows the relationship between the areas in Africa with a threatened biome status and the areas with a significant rate of deforestation. There is a high rate of deforestation shown in Rwanda and Burundi, where coltan is mined. There also appears to be a high rate around the

western part of the continent. The most critically threatened biomes are shown to be in central Africa, a section which also borders the coltanreserves.

Capacitators http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=589Gorilla http://www.newageinfo.com/Dian-Fossey-ghost.htmMining in the DRC – Coltan is mined in the slashed oval in the eastern DRC. http://www.mineralinfo.org/Lettres/L2003/L0307.htmMap zoomed in on the coltan mining region showing Kahuzi Biega National Park. www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMGO825WVD_index_1.html Rwanda deforestation http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/african_forest_elephant.htmElephant http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/african_forest_elephant.htm

Computer Industry Impacts on the Environment and Society: Coltan Mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/section002group3/coltan_mining_in_democratic_republic_of_the_congo[7/08/2011 10:49:35 AM]

Contact Information:Andrew Munn E-mail: anromu@umich.edu

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