More than 200 artisanal miners were killed when a coltan mine collapsed in the town of Rubaya in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, stated Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesman for the North Kivu region's rebel governor. The collapse occurred following heavy rains, trapping numerous individuals, including women and children, who were extracting coltan, a mineral essential for electronics manufacturing.
Former mine supervisors indicated to the BBC that the extraction site lacked proper maintenance, which exacerbated the risk of accidents and hindered subsequent rescue operations. They also noted that the fragile geological structure of the soil contributed significantly to the scale of the landslide.
Congolese government authorities countered by blaming the deaths on the M23 rebels, asserting that the group permits illegal mining without enforcing necessary safety protocols. The government claims it had previously banned mining in the area last year, although rebel forces had already secured control of the mining zones by that time.
Around 20 survivors are reportedly receiving medical treatment following the disaster, which highlights the persistent dangers faced by artisanal miners in the region. Rubaya, which holds approximately 15% of the world's coltan supply, is currently under the administration of the M23, a group internationally accused of receiving backing from neighboring Rwanda.
The Congolese government reiterated its accusation that Rwanda utilizes the M23 to systematically loot natural resources from the DRC, describing the mining activities under armed occupation as a structured system of illicit exploitation. While Rwanda consistently denies providing military support to the M23, United Nations experts have presented evidence suggesting minerals from the DRC transit through Rwandan territory.
This incident underscores the complex geopolitical entanglement surrounding the DRC’s mineral wealth, where lucrative resources like coltan fuel both global technology supply chains and regional armed conflict. The UN has previously accused the M23 rebels of imposing unauthorized taxes on the mining sector for their own financial benefit since seizing control in 2024.
Governor Erasto Bahati Musanga, appointed by the M23, visited survivors of the collapse on Friday, drawing further attention to the governance vacuum in areas rich with strategic raw materials. The frequency of such deadly collapses in the DRC points to a systemic failure in regulating artisanal extraction, regardless of which faction controls the territory.
