Congo Files - Part 3
SC-S1 · Congolese miner underground
This man digs the mineral that goes into your phone. The distance between him and you is documented.
Eastern DRC holds an estimated 64 percent of the world's coltan reserves. Coltan is refined into tantalum, the material in the capacitors in every smartphone, laptop and electric vehicle battery. The UN documented $800 million in M23 coltan revenue in nine months. The export route through Rwanda is documented. The OECD guidelines exist. The DRC filed a lawsuit against Apple in December 2024.
SC-S2 · Raw coltan ore on weighing table
Coltan · Eastern DRC · The mineral behind the conflict02 / 07
Coltan is what makes your phone work. Eastern DRC holds the largest known reserves on earth.
Coltan, short for columbite-tantalite, is refined into tantalum, a key component in the capacitors that power smartphones, laptops and electric vehicle batteries. Eastern DRC holds an estimated 64 percent of the world's known coltan reserves.
The UN Group of Experts documented in 2024 that M23 and RDF forces generated $800 million in revenue from coltan mining in eastern DRC between April and December 2024 alone. The minerals were exported through Rwanda.
President Kagame himself acknowledged that Congolese minerals transit through Rwanda to destinations including Brussels, Tel Aviv, Russia and Dubai.
Source: UN Group of Experts Report S/2024/432 · Oakland Institute, "Shafted," 2025 · Kagame public statement on mineral transit
SC-S3 · Smartphone laptop and EV battery on white
Smartphones. Laptops. Electric vehicles. Three industries. One source.03 / 07
These three objects contain tantalum refined from coltan. These three objects are why the mine is worth controlling.
Tantalum capacitors are in every smartphone, laptop and electric vehicle battery manufactured today. The global consumer electronics industry has annual revenues in the trillions. Coltan is a critical input. Eastern DRC is the primary source.
The OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas was first published in 2011. It applies to tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. The guidance is voluntary.
Source: OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains, 2016 edition · Wikipedia, Tantalum · Global Witness supply chain documentation
SC-S4 · OECD due diligence guidance document
OECD Due Diligence Guidance · Conflict minerals · Voluntary · Since 201104 / 07
The OECD published guidelines in 2011 for responsible mineral sourcing from conflict zones. They are voluntary.
The EU adopted mandatory due diligence regulations for conflict minerals in 2017, entering into force in 2021 for large importers. The US Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502 required publicly traded companies to disclose whether their products contained conflict minerals from the DRC.
In December 2024, the DRC government filed a lawsuit in a European court against Apple, accusing it of using illegally mined minerals from the DRC. The lawsuit is the first of its kind by an affected government directly against a named consumer electronics corporation.
Source: OECD Due Diligence Guidance, 2016 · EU Conflict Minerals Regulation 2017/821 · US Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502 · DRC v Apple lawsuit, December 2024
SC-S5 · Map of DRC and Rwanda with export route
Eastern DRC to Rwanda to global markets · Documented route05 / 07
Rwanda exports more coltan than it mines. The gap is accounted for by transit minerals from eastern DRC. This is documented.
Rwanda's own mineral export figures have for years exceeded what Rwanda's own mines can produce. The UN Group of Experts documented this export route in multiple annual reports including S/2024/432 and S/2025/446.
Global Witness has traced specific mineral shipments. The chain from mine to consumer market is documented. What remains undocumented is whether the companies at the end of that chain have fulfilled their due diligence obligations.
Source: UN Group of Experts reports S/2024/432 and S/2025/446 · Global Witness, "Digging in Darkness," 2022 · Oakland Institute, "Shafted," 2025
SC-S6 · Corporate responsible sourcing report
Corporate disclosures · The gap between the report and the mine06 / 07
Every major tech company publishes a responsible sourcing report. The DRC government filed a lawsuit against Apple in December 2024.
Apple, Microsoft, Google and Samsung all publish annual conflict minerals reports under the requirements of Dodd-Frank Section 1502. These reports describe supply chain auditing processes, smelter verification programmes and due diligence frameworks.
The DRC v Apple lawsuit does not prove wrongdoing. It documents that the gap between the published report and the documented supply chain is large enough that a government felt it warranted legal action in a European court.
Source: DRC v Apple lawsuit, December 2024 · Apple Conflict Minerals Report 2023 · US SEC conflict minerals disclosures · Oakland Institute, "Shafted," 2025
SC-S7 · Miner headlamp on dirt floor · mine shaft
The question. Not a claim.07 / 07
The route is documented. The guidelines exist. The lawsuit has been filed. The reports are published. What is the distance between a voluntary framework and accountability, and who decides when that distance is acceptable?
Tomorrow: the final episode. The media silence. Rwanda's denial versus the UN's documented findings. No binding Security Council action. The series ends. The conflict does not.
Some stories are buried on purpose. We dig.
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