The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has declined drastically around the 1980s, despite being home to vast potential in natural resources and mineral wealth; their gross domestic product is $69.474 billion as of 2023.
Coltan is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite, and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite.
Rutshuru is a town located in the North Kivu province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is headquarters of an administrative district, the Rutshuru Territory. The town lies in the western branch of the Albertine Rift between Lakes Edward and Kivu. The Ugandan border is 15 km east and the Rwandan border is 30 km south-east. Lava flows from the Nyamuragira volcano, 40 km south-west, have come within 7 km of the town in recent years.
The mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo produces copper, diamonds, tantalum, tin, gold, and more than 63% of global cobalt production. Minerals and petroleum are central to the DRC's economy, making up more than 95% of the value of its exports.
The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has a history of conflict, where various armies, rebel groups, and outside actors have profited from mining while contributing to violence and exploitation during wars in the region. The four main end products of mining in the eastern DRC are tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold, which are extracted and passed through a variety of intermediaries before being sold to international markets. These four products, are essential in the manufacture of a variety of devices, including consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Walikale Territory is a territory located within the Congolese province of North Kivu, in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The headquarters are in the town of Walikale. The locality is situated between Bukavu and Lubutu on DR Congo National Road No. 3 in the valley of the river Lowa, 135 km to the west of Goma.
Bisie, divided into Mpama North and Mpama South deposits, is a tin deposit in the Walikale territory of the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The mine was formerly an illegal source of an estimated 15,000 tons of tin, or 4% of global production. In early 2018 artisanal mining activity has stopped, and Alphamin Resources Corp., an exploration company, based in Mauritius, is leading an exploration of the site.
Army General Gabriel Amisi Kumba was Chief of Staff of the Forces Terrestres, the army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Amisi was a former Forces armees Zairoises (FAZ) officer who was recruited into the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) in 1996. During the Second Congo War, Amisi was assistant chief of staff for logistics of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD-G). This position was the origin of his nickname, as T-4 was the abbreviation for his position. He was implicated by Human Rights Watch in the execution of soldier Joe Lona Bifuko and in the torture of prisoners in the ANC military intelligence detention centre in Goma in 2001.
The Kapulo mine is a cassiterite mine and a planned copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located near a village of the same name.
Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm, compared to iron with 50,000 ppm.
Coltan is the colloquial name for the mineral columbite-tantalum ("col-tan"). In the early 21st century coltan mining is associated with human rights violations such as child labour, systematic exploitation of the population by governments or militant groups, exposure to toxic chemicals and other hazards as a result of lax environmental protection, and general safety laws and regulations.
Nova Dies is a British Virgin Islands (BVI) international business company (IBC) that functions as a business shell covering a consortium of international trusts and other asset managers investing in mining and shipping of natural resources. Its shares are controlled through a complex trust scheme and it is managed through a Management Company that is a subsidiary of Nova Dies itself. It has been speculated that Nova Dies scheme mostly covers investments of Colombian, Dutch, Greek and Congolese mining and shipping interests.
Kamituga is a mining town in the Mwenga Territory, South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the east of the Bulega mining region and the western slope of the Mitumba mountain range. As of 2012, it had an estimated population of 13,995.
Géomines was a Belgian mining company active in the Belgian Congo and then in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1910, and exploited a large deposit in the southeast of the country to become one of the largest tin producers in the world. It was taken over by Zairetain in 1968.
The Compagnie Minière des Grands-Lacs (MGL) was a Belgian mining company active in the Belgian Congo and then in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1923 and in 1976 merged with other companies into the Société Minière et Industrielle du Kivu (SOMINKI). The company was active in the eastern regions of Maniema and Kivu, with its main center at Kamituga in today's South Kivu. It extracted gold, tin and other minerals.
The Twangiza-Namoya gold belt is a belt of gold deposits in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Artisanal working of alluvial deposits dates back to the 1920s. More systematic exploration and exploitation took place in the colonial era and continues up to the present, although civil war and militia attacks have periodically disrupted operations and have caused several changes of ownership of the concessions.
The Société Minière et Industrielle du Kivu (Sominki) was a privately held mining company of Zaire. It operated gold and tin mines, mostly in South Kivu province, between 1974 and 1997. The acquisition of its mining assets by Banro Corporation of Canada was complicated by the First Congo War in 1996–1997, followed by expropriation of the mines by the new Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government. Eventually Banro gained the right to exploit the gold mines.
The Rubaya mines, also known as the Bibatama Mining Concession, is a series of coltan mining sites near the town of Rubaya in Masisi Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Officially, the mining license is held by Société Minière de Bisunzu Sarl (SMB), associated with Congolese senator Édouard Mwangachuchu. Specific sites include Bibatama D2, Luwowo, Gakombe D4, Koyi, Mataba D2, Bundjali, and Bibatama D3.
Société Aurifère du Kivu et du Maniema, SARL (SAKIMA) is a Congolese state-owned mining company which holds interests in various gold and tin mines in the provinces of Maniema, North Kivu and South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company's operations are based in the town of Kalima.
Numbi is a town in Kalehe Territory in South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
