The global electronics industry is under threat due to the armed conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The March 23 Movement, a Tutsi-led group, has seized control of areas that contain 80% of the world's coltan deposits. This mineral is essential for the production of computers and mobile phones.
All leading electronics manufacturers are closely monitoring the developments in the Great Lakes region. This is reported in materials of international news agencies.
Coltan deposits, gold mines and diamond mines are currently in the zone of active fighting. The M23 group, with the support of the regular Rwandan army, has captured the city of Goma and a significant part of the North Kivu province.
China, which has its own positions in the coltan deposits of the region, is particularly interested in the situation. Global corporations fear that the escalation of the conflict could lead to disruptions in the supply of strategic raw materials.
The main production facilities and mines with foreign capital are currently guarded by the private military company Agemira, consisting mainly of French and Belgians. However, experts do not rule out further aggravation of the situation, which will directly affect the global market for electronic devices.
What is coltan?
Coltan – is the abbreviated name for columbite-tantalite, a rare black or brown mineral. This is the raw material from which tantalum – a metal that is critical to the production of electronic devices.
In mobile phones, tablets and laptops, tantalum is used to create capacitors that allow electrical charge to be stored and the size of the devices to be reduced. 80% of the world's coltan deposits are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.