GLOBAL 3000 # The Democratic Republic of Congo: Combating Illegal Coltan Mining # 07.06.2010

The Democratic Republic of Congo has rich deposits of gold, diamonds, copper and other minerals that unscrupulous business people have been eager to exploit. Rebel groups have used the sale of raw materials to fund civil war, and Rwandan militias in eastern Congo are capitalizing on the sale of coltan, a crucial raw material in the manufacture of electronic devices.