The components controlling the flow of electricity in mobile
phones are composed of the refined mineral known as Coltan. With
more and more people using mobile phones the demand for Coltan
has increased significantly. Mobile phones fuel Congo conflict
The largest reserves of Coltan are to be found in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, and much of the finance sustaining the
civil wars in Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, is directly connected to Coltan profits. Coltan is
extracted under terrible working conditions in mines in Eastern
Congo. The United Nations reports child labour in Africa has
significantly increased in Coltan mines. In some regions of the
Congo, about 30 percent of schoolchildren are now forced to work
in the mines. It can be dangerous to ask questions “The control
over these resources works through maintaining local militia and
exploiting cheap labour to excavate the mines”, says Antony
Grange, Country Coordinator with experience from the
DanChurchAid work in DRC