Collapse at coltan mine in eastern Congo kills 12, sources say

The small town of Rubaya produces around one-sixth of the world's supply of coltan

A man displays a coltan ore at the SMB mine near the town of Rubaya in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, August 13, 2019. Picture taken August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/

A collapse at a coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province has killed at least 12 people, a mining source and a civil society source said on Friday.

The sources said that dozens more escaped from the artisanal mine when it collapsed on Thursday. The reasons for the collapse were not immediately clear.

Small, artisanal mines around the town of Rubaya produce around one-sixth of the world's supply of coltan, a metallic ore crucial to the production of smartphones and other electronic devices.

The M23 rebels have controlled the area since mid-2024 and charge a tax of 15 percent on the value of that coltan production, rebel officials have told Reuters.