Rights teams raised considerations over circumstances on the mine, which provides about 15 % of the world’s coltan utilized in superior electronics.
Printed On 31 Jan 2026
Greater than 200 folks have been reported killed in a collapse on the Rubaya coltan mine in japanese Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province the place the mine is positioned, advised the Reuters information company.
The mine, positioned some 60km (37 miles) northwest of Goma metropolis, the provincial capital of North Kivu province, collapsed on Wednesday, and the exact variety of casualties was nonetheless unclear as of Friday night, Reuters experiences.
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“Greater than 200 folks have been victims of this landslide, together with miners, youngsters and market girls. Some folks have been rescued simply in time and have critical accidents,” Muyisa advised Reuters, including that about 20 injured folks have been being handled in well being services.
“We’re within the wet season. The bottom is fragile. It was the bottom that gave manner whereas the victims have been within the gap,” he stated.
Eraston Bahati Musanga, the governor of North Kivu province appointed by the M23 insurgent group, advised the AFP information company on Friday that “some our bodies have been recovered”, with out giving a selected determine of the variety of these killed and injured, however suggesting a probably excessive dying toll.
An adviser to the provincial governor put the dying toll at greater than 200, talking on situation of anonymity to Reuters as a result of he was not authorised to transient the media.
AFP stated it was unable to verify the dying toll with unbiased sources as of Friday night.
Franck Bolingo, an artisanal miner interviewed at Rubaya by AFP, stated individuals are believed to nonetheless be trapped contained in the mine.
“It rained, then the landslide occurred and swept folks away. Some have been buried alive, and others are nonetheless trapped within the shafts,” Bolingo stated.
Rubaya produces about 15 % of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant steel that’s in excessive demand by makers of cell phones, computer systems, aerospace elements and gasoline generators.
The mine, the place locals dig manually for a couple of {dollars} per day, has been below the management of the Rwanda-backed M23 insurgent group since 2024, after beforehand altering palms between the DRC authorities and insurgent teams.
The heavily-armed M23 rebels, whose acknowledged goal is to overthrow the DRC authorities within the capital Kinshasa, captured much more mineral-rich territory within the east of the nation throughout a lightning advance final yr.
The United Nations has accused M23 rebels of plundering Rubaya’s assets to assist fund their revolt, backed by Rwanda, an allegation that the federal government in Kigali denies.
Regardless of the DRC’s distinctive mineral wealth, greater than 70 % of Congolese reside on lower than $2.15 a day.
