Does war in eastern Congo mess up cobalt and coltan, and who buys them?

"Rubaya, the Congolese mining area now controlled by M23, produces 15% of the world's coltan."

"We found that conflict coltan may have unwittingly found its way to global brands including Microsoft, Vodafone, Sony, Amazon, Nvidia, LG Display, Ericsson, Toyota and Apple – and into products we use every day."

"five of Rwanda’s seven largest coltan exporters purchased material originating from the Rubaya mining area in North Kivu, where M23 has controlled operations for the past two years."

"The smuggled Congolese coltan is mixed with Rwandan production before export, making it virtually impossible to trace its origin, then sold to smelters supplying global technology manufacturers, U.N. experts said."

"Global Witness has found direct evidence that at least five of the seven largest Rwandan coltan exporters have bought conflict coltan from DRC’s Rubaya mines"

"Attention is drawn to phenomena such as forced labour, bonded labour, slave labour, child labour, the situation of women, and violations of all health and safety standards in mines."

"Rwandan company Boss Mining Solution bought minerals smuggled from rebel-held areas of neighboring Congo, helping fund an insurgency in that vast African country, according to a confidential report by a group of United Nations experts that was reviewed by Reuters."

"Instead, the traceability system known as ITSCI that many international companies rely on to keep their supply chains conflict-free is being used to launder a large share of smuggled coltan."

"Rubaya accounts for roughly 15% of global coltan production, making the region strategically important to the electronics industry."

"The resulting mingling of Congolese and Rwandan coltan production was "the most important contamination of supply chains" to date, the U.N. said."

"the DRC supplied over two-thirds of the world’s cobalt, with national reserves reaching 4 million metric tonnes, approximately 48% of global reserves"

"From January 2023 to September 2025, just seven Rwandan companies exported almost 85% of coltan from Rwanda, according to customs data seen by Global Witness."

"Global Witness alleged that the ITSCI traceability system has been used to launder significant volumes of smuggled coltan"

"M23 was taking in $800,000 monthly from taxes collected from coltan mining in eastern Congo, according to the 2024 report."

"The GPN analysis highlights that disparities in value distribution and risk within the cobalt supply chain stem from the dominance of global actors, weak local governance, and fragmented cross-sectoral collaboration."

"Ulba has processed coltan from East Rise Corporation which, according to the US, sourced conflict coltan in DRC"

"Coltan ore samples from several regions can also be discriminated using major and trace elements of these samples."

"These looted minerals come from mines in Rubaya in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which produce 15% of the world's tantalum , a key ingredient for electronic products found in smartphones, laptops and cars around the world."

"The investigation reveals that the multibillion-dollar company headquartered in Luxembourg bought 280 tonnes of coltan from Rwanda in 2024 based on customs documents seen by Global Witness."

"which produce around 15% of the world’s coltan and have been occupied by the Rwanda-backed armed group M23 since April 2024, with deadly consequences"

"The Rubaya mines have become a main revenue source for M23's brutal warfare in DRC."

"According to UN experts the ore trade has provided M23 a revenue estimated at US$800,000 per month."

"the unprecedented amount of conflict coltan smuggled from Rubaya, DRC, into Rwanda is bought by at least five of Rwanda’s seven biggest coltan exporters."

"UN investigators traced Rubaya minerals along rebel-controlled routes into Rwanda. Their 2026 report describes Kigali-based buyers, approved transporters and tax invoices settled after delivery."

"Global Witness has found direct evidence that at least five of the seven largest Rwandan coltan exporters have bought conflict coltan from DRC's Rubaya mines: African Panther Resources , Sunrise Metal Company , Boss Mining Solution , Kanzamin and Philbert Trading Minerals"

"Traxys was the almost exclusive buyer of coltan sold by Rwandan minerals exporter African Panther Resources Limited, according to customs data seen by Global Witness."

"From there it is sold through intermediaries to smelters, and ultimately is likely to enter the supply chains of major consumer technology, automotive and telecoms brands."

"UN experts estimated at least US$800,000 a month from coltan taxation in 2024."

"Jiujiang Tanbre Co. has sourced conflict coltan from African Panther Resources shipped by Traxys and likely also from Sunrise Metal Company"

"One trader also said M23 demanded a tax of 15% of the selling price."

"Industry reporting points to AI servers and other data centre hardware as a structural driver of rising demand for tantalum capacitors, which provide this needed power density."

"M23 briefly occupied Rubaya in February 2023 before being pushed out."

"Traxys denied that its coltan originates from Rubaya and helps fund M23, asserting that it is “firmly committed to working only with responsible supply chains when sourcing minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.”"