100 workers coltan mine

Kinshasa (dpa) — One hundred people were buried after a mudslide at a coltan mine in eastern Congo on Saturday, the police said, as rescue workers continued the search for the dead and any possible survivors.

The landslide was triggered in the early hours of the morning in the town of Masisi in North Kivu province by heavy rainfall, police spokesman Robert Kasongo told dpa.

The latest accident comes just days after a similar incident occurred on Tuesday in another quarry where coltan is mined, also in Masisi.

That landslide killed up to 200 people, according to many reports.

There was a similar disaster in January in the same area, which killed dozens of people.

100 workers coltan mine

Working conditions are precarious in many mines in Congo, despite the richness of the nation’s resources. Often there is no safety equipment, and child labour is common in many mines.

Conflict further exacerbates the conditions. Since mid-2024, Masisi has been controlled by M23 rebels who oversee mining there and in other parts of eastern Congo.

The conflict raging for decades in Congo is fuelled by its many raw materials, from coltan to gold and tin. More than 100 armed militias and soldiers from neighbouring Rwanda have been fighting there for some 30 years.

Coltan, used to make the metal tantalum, plays a critical role in microelectronics and is indispensable for many electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops and flat screens.

Due to its heat and corrosion resistance, the automotive and aerospace industries need tantalum too. It is also used in medical devices.