Democratic Republic of the Congo: Confl Ict Gold Photos and Text by Zoran Marinović
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Democratic Republic of the Congo: Confl ict Gold Photos and text by Zoran Marinović The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to 75 million people. Most miners only barely earn enough to survive, between $1 and $2 a CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Bangassou SOUTH SUDAN Uban It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the nineteenth day. Many don’t even manage that. Few if any of the mines are large- Bangui g i Juba most populous nation in the world. The country has also been referred scale industrial ones owned by international companies. They are Zongo DEMOCRATIC Gbadolite Bondo Faradje U to as the Saudi Arabia of minerals and is home to the world’s deadliest hand-built artesan mines, with the only tools available being shovels REPUBLIC OF THE Libenge Businga ele Kib confl ict since the World War II. The root of this confl ict is Gold and and a lot of hard labor.The method dates back more than 2000 years, Gemena Aketi Buta Isiro Watsa ali CONGO gala Gulu other valuable minerals like Coltan and Cassiterite. miners lay blankets in the water ways and let the sediment collect on Lisala Bumba PROVINCE Mungbere Impfondo Imese M Ituri National capital go ORIENTALE UGANDA in the fi bers, the blankets are then wrung out into a pan, mercury is n i o pori ruwim Bunia Lake District capital Ouesso u C Lo Basoko A i Lake g Albert Kyoga n Bafwasende The confl ict and resulting humanitarian crisis in the Democratic added to the sediment which chemically binds the gold together, the City, town a ga Basankusu Banalia b lon u Lu Beni Republic of the Congo (DRC) has taken the lives of 5.4 million people mercury is later burnt away leaving a solid ball of unpurifi ed gold. Major airport O EQUATEUR Yangambi Kisangani Kampala Jinja Bolomba Butembo Kasese since 1998 and continues to leave as many as 45,000 dead every International boundary Ekoli S District boundary CONGO Boende NORD- T Ubundu L Lake Liranga Mbandaka shu u Peneluta month. The secondary aspects of the confl ict, such as starvation and Though the price on the world commodity markets of its vast gold, a L a N Edward Main road pa o l L m a KIVU o a b Lake L m Lubutu disease, cause the majority of these deaths. coltan and cassiterite has reached record highs in recent years, Secondary road u e m a I i l Ikela la a i Goma Victoria Railroad ka U Punia ( l Inongo C RWANDA the DR Congo’s economy and its population haven’t benefi ted in in Lake A o d i Kivu Bolobo n Kigali Coltan is short for columbite-tantalite - a black tar-like mineral found the slightest. One of the richest countries on the planet in terms of 0 100 200 300 km Lac g o T Butare Kutu ) Bukavu Mai-Ndombe in major quantities in the DR Congo. The DR Congo possesses 80 natural resources, DR Congo remains one of the very poorest by most 0 100 200 mi KASAI Kindu SUD- Lu N Bujumbura Bandundu kenie Kole Lodja Kilembwe Uvira percent of the world’s coltan, but only mines a fraction of it. When economic standards. Kas K ai ORIENTAL Kibombo KIVU U BURUNDI w Sa Makobola Brazzaville i Ilebo n coltan is refi ned it becomes a heat resistant powder that can hold lu k Kinshasa u MANIEMA KASAI Bena r SA Bulungu u Kasongo O a high electric charge. It’s a vital component in a vast array of small The mineral trade is a valuable source of income for government A Kenge Mweka Mamba Pointe-Noire INSH Lusambo Kigoma K Tabora BAS-CONGO OCCIDENTAL L electronic devices, especially in mobile phones, laptop computers, soldiers and rebels alike - they often don’t receive any salary. But Cabinda Mbanza- Kikwit Lubao Kongolo M Matadi a (ANGOLA) Boma Ngungu uga k BANDUNDU uk Kalemie e UNITED Kananga pagers, and other electronic devices. it’s only the people right at the top of the hierarchy - the warlords Mbuji-Mayi Kabalo L Tshikapa L REPUBLIC u and army commanders - that are really making any money. And ATLANTIC Kabinda a K l Mpala OF K a a b T w sa a a Cassiterite has been the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and that money is usually used to buy more weapons and ammunition to OCEAN a i A Moba TANZANIA n N'zeto n g Mwene-Ditu Manono g o a Rukwa Kabamba n remains the most important source of tin today. Tin has many uses. maintain their control of the territory and population. And so the cycle Kahemba B Lu y Sumbawanga KATANGA v i u Moliro k a It takes a high polish and is used to coat other metals to prevent of violence continues. Kapanga Pweto a M Kamina Mbeya corrosion, such as in tin cans; which are made of tin-coated steel. Luanda L u U l u Lake a Alloys of tin are important, such as soft solder and bronze. Gold is now the most important confl ict mineral in eastern DR Congo, ANGOLA Mweru Katanga T DEMOCRATIC Saurimo with at least 12 tons worth roughly $500 million smuggled out of the REPUBLIC OF THE Plateau I CONGO Dilolo Gold - The world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in east every year. The M23 rebel group has taken over a profi table Kolwezi M Kasenga ZAMBIA L a M k jewelry, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry. part of the confl ict gold trade in the east of the DR Congo...It is using e Likasi Lake e z e A b Bangweulu M am Lubumbashi L revenues from the illicit trade to benefi t its leaders and supporters and Z a Luena l Solwezi Kipushi A a Despite promises by President Kabila to clean up the mining industry, fund its military campaign by building military alliances and networks Lobito w The boundaries and names shown and the designations used W i on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance Sakania corruption remains rife and thousands of small-scale unoffi cial mines with other armed groups that control territory around gold mines and by the United Nations. I scatter the country. by smuggling gold through Uganda and Burundi. Ndola It’s no coincidence that the mineral mines are situated in the areas The other widespread rebel group is known as the Mai-Mai. The term home to the bloodiest violence and confl ict. The mines are either Mai-Mai refers to any kind of community-based militia group active For more than two decades, the DR Congo has struggled with dynamics have also contributed to instability that extends beyond the controlled by government troops (FARDC) or the rebels they’re fi ghting in the DR Congo, formed to defend their local territory against other ongoing confl ict in its eastern provinces. Today, an estimated 2.6 DRC’s borders. While local government offi cials, UN agencies, and (principally the FDLR and M23), though they all deny any involvement. armed groups. They are often made up of child soldiers that fall under million Congolese are internally displaced, and more than 460,000 NGOs are striving to mitigate the suffering of the displaced, the level The mines and the communities around them are controlled with an the command of the local warlord. Territory is contested between have fl ed their homes into neighboring countries. Armed groups such of violence and insecurity has in many cases prevented signifi cant iron fi st and conditions for the men and children who serve as the militia’s aiming to gain control over mines and the populations that as the M23, FDLR, and the Mai-Mai threaten civilians in North Kivu, improvements from being made. miners and porters are extremely tough. mine them. South Kivu, Katanga, and Orientale provinces. Increasingly, regional 4 5 May 2014 - In north Kivu province, a Mai-Mai Dec 2013 - Muhungu Solo, a 14-year-old member militiaman mans his post protecting the gold rich of the Mai-Mai out on night patrol near his area under their control from other invading militia checkpoint where they take bribes from any who groups. wishes to pass. Muhungu has been in the militia for a few years, he has never been to school all he known is his Chinese made heavy machinegun. 14 15 Apr 2013 - Prisoners of the Bukavu central prison enjoy cigarettes a rare commodity, which reveals those with connections or muscle. 26 27.