War for minerals


  • Photographer
    Erberto Zani
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Company/Studios
    Independent photographer
  • Date of Photograph
    September 2013

Republic Democratic of Congo, North Kivu.Coltan and manganese are rare metals used to make mobile phones and computers. The market value is so high as to have aroused the interest of multinational corporations and criminal organizations:Under the supervision of the buyers in Rwanda, soldiers and police control the territory, exploiting the local population and reselling its natural resources: the proceeds are used to buy other weapons that provide additional power, thus creating a vicious circle it is difficult to break. Under control of Nyatura, men work at the Mudere mine, near Rubaya, some 9 kms from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma.

Story

Republic Democratic of Congo, North Kivu, Masisi, Rubaya. Coltan and manganese are rare metals used to make mobile phones and computers. The market value is so high as to have aroused the interest of multinational corporations and criminal organizations: in order to destabilize the political situation and take control of the mining business at a reasonable price, financial backing is given to armed groups waging war on one another. Under the supervision of the buyers in Rwanda, soldiers and police control the territory, exploiting the local population and reselling its natural resources: the proceeds are used to buy other weapons that provide additional power, thus creating a vicious circle it is difficult to break. Under control of Nyatura, men work at the Mudere mine, near Rubaya, some 9 kms from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, digging for cassiterite, coltan, and manganese which are used in mobile telephones and computers.

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