Playstation and Coltan Fever

Fantastic article that unmasks the great lie about 'ethnic' tensions in the DRC conflict, it is all about the money

The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is extremely rich in Coltan (Columbite-Tantalite), a rare metallic ore used for the production of electronic goods of mass consumption, such as mobile phones, laptops and videogame consoles, whose profits have fuelled the largest conflict in modern African history.

For over 10 years, companies in industrialized countries have purchased Coltan despite war and lawlessness in the DRC, and they became profitable sources of foreign currency for a multitude of state and non-state actors, including rebel forces, Rwandan and Ugandan governments (and their armies), licensed companies and poor communities with no employment opportunities. [..]

The demand for Coltan by western industries reached its peak at the end of 2000 when new technologies started being used for mobile phones and other electronic devices. According to Toward Freedom's John Lasker, high market prices were mainly related to the mass production of Sony Playstation II combined with a global shortage of supplies. Correspondingly, the price for Coltan rose dramatically: from US$30 per pound in 1999 to US$380 per pound in December 2000. [..]

NGOs and activist groups started campaigns against these companies and the news appeared in the media for the first time. As a result, many giant corporations such as Nokia, Samsung and Motorola published specific corporate policies against the use of Congolese Coltan and are today buying, at least officially, from other producers in Australia, Canada and few other countries. [..]

"The trade has never stopped and it is still directly or indirectly linked to the financing of rebel groups. Even though corporations write in their websites that they do not buy Coltan in the DRC, these are only PR announcements that are impossible to implement."

However, not much seems to have changed in the DRC since 2001.