conflict minerals
What is Conflict Mining?
Conflict mining is the mining of minerals form war-torn areas, in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuse, such as Congo. Violence and exploitation by various armies, rebel groups and outside actors are contributing to the escalating conflict in Congo for significant profits. Native Congolese people are forced to work day and night mining minerals which are shipped to manufactures of electronics around the world who use these minerals to make the components of the electronic devices we own and use today. The mining is supporting the wars, or causing the wars.
What are Conflict Minerals?
The conflict minerals most commonly mined in Congo are Cassiterite (Tin), Wolframite (Tungsten), Coltan ( tantalite) and Goal.
Conflict mining is the mining of minerals form war-torn areas, in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuse, such as Congo. Violence and exploitation by various armies, rebel groups and outside actors are contributing to the escalating conflict in Congo for significant profits. Native Congolese people are forced to work day and night mining minerals which are shipped to manufactures of electronics around the world who use these minerals to make the components of the electronic devices we own and use today. The mining is supporting the wars, or causing the wars.
What are Conflict Minerals?
The conflict minerals most commonly mined in Congo are Cassiterite (Tin), Wolframite (Tungsten), Coltan ( tantalite) and Goal.
Cassiterite (Tin) is one of the four conflict minerals mined in Congo and is used in our mobile phones as a sorter on the circuit boards.
Coltan is known industrially as Tantalite from which elements such as Tantalum is extracted. Tantalum is used primarily in the production of Tantalum Capacitors, used in almost every electronic device including cell phones.
Wolframite is the main source of the metal tungsten, a strong and quite dense material used for electronic filaments. This mineral is what allows our cell phones to vibrate.
Gold is another mineral that is fueling the conflicts in Congo. It is used as a coating for electric wires used inside our cell phones and other electronic devices.
Congo brutally enslaved
How our consumer demand fuels the war in Congo?
The rate of increase of the violence in Congo is indirectly linked to our demand for cell phones, computers, gaming consoles, flat screen televisions and other consumer electronics. The components of all these devices are manufactured from these conflict minerals mined in Congo and smuggled overseas to smelting companies in Asia were they are mixed with other minerals from other parts of the world which make them difficult, but not impossible to trace. These companies process the minerals into components which end up all over the world in the products we know and love, iPhones and BlackBerrys just to name a few. |
What can we do to help?
Congo's conflict minerals problem, thou complicated, can be resolved. We are the fuel to Congo's conflict mineral problems, as such the solution to the problem lies within us as electronics consumers, we must play a role in ending the violence. Fire can not existed with out a fuel, we must stop adding fuel to the fire in Congo. In order to achieve this we must place pressure on electronics companies to remove conflict minerals from their supply chains removing the fuel from the fire in Congo. We must raising our voices collectively and demanding conflict free electronics.
To help end war in Congo you can visit the Take Action page on the Raise Hope For Congo website and add your voice to the movement by clicking Link 'Help' below
HELP
To help end war in Congo you can visit the Take Action page on the Raise Hope For Congo website and add your voice to the movement by clicking Link 'Help' below
HELP