By J. Omar Mateos Rodríguez
Edition by Guillermina Feher de la Torre
Today’s global technological progress cannot be envisioned without the usage of raw materials such as Coltan, whose legal extraction comes with a rightful price that multinationals are not aiming to pay. African countries in conflict are paying for it with human lives instead.
Keywords: Coltan, technology, Africa, multinationals, Congo, human rights, conflicts, reservoir, people, first world, corruption, economy.
Introduction
Things like cell phones, laptops, videogames, ultra thin TV displays, among others, are quite common high-tech devices that we use every day. Those technology advantages would be unimaginable without the use of natural resources like coltan.
Coltan —name formed by the contraction of the words Columbite and Tantalite, the scientific nomenclature— is an ore —a “rock or earth from which metal can be obtained” (Longman Dictionary, 2008)— of Tantalum: and element that has raises its importance due to the variety of applications that it boasts.
Although Coltan is not a common material on Earth’s surface, there are several mines spread throughout the world. Most of the mines are locates in developed countries, such as the United States, Australia, Brasil, Chine, etcetera; yet, with an estimated of 80% Coltan’s global supply, the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the main producers of this material. However, since 1998, this ore’s extraction has fueled Middle African countries’ conflicts and then induced “the largest humanitarian disaster since World War Two” (Mvemba, 2007).
My purpose is to do a research of Coltan’s polemic situation, through the geologic point of view and with that information I will analyze Coltan-related geo-political aspects.
Development
At first, I started to look for information about the minerals that constitute Coltan, Columbite and Tantalite. That data is used to locate potential mines; looking for alternatives to African mines is considered an important objective of this essay.
Then, the investigation of geo-political concerns follows. The huge amount of knowledge surrounding Coltan’s problematic can be found throughout the Internet. Fortunately, there is a pair of sources that have good and reliable information.
After retrieving and analyzing the facts, I will organize them and develop a way to spread that information —and make it known!
Conclusions
Coltan —which it a dull black, metallic soil— is formed by Columbite (FeNb2O6) and Tantalite [(Mn, Fe)(Ta, Nb)2O6). The former’s properties are: color – black/red-brownish, luster – submetallic, hardness – 6[1], application – niobium ore; and the latter ones are: color – black to brown, luster – submetallic, hardness – 6.51, application – tantalum ore (Korbel, 2001). Columbite and Tantalite are often found together —and this helps in finding ores.
About the geo-political aspect —and also the economic one—, the mineral has been exploited for years, but it became noticed since the late 1990s, in what has been called the “Coltan Rush”, according to Mvemba Phezo Dizolele —who is a United Press International Africa columnist, and a political analyst at the Center for Global Development—and the Pulitzer Center.
Mvemba (2007) adds that, in the early 2000, a pound of coltan cost around U.S.$35 internationally. However, by the end of that year, the price had been raised to the amount of U.S.$400 per pound. And Militia and Crime organizations hold the control of Coltan’s extraction in the Congo.
Also, Western enterprises —such as Motorola and Nokia, among others— have been involved in the conflict, feeding a war in the heart of Africa. That war, as reported by the Comité de Solidaridad con el África Negra, has made a wealthy country and it´s people bankrupt. This is unjustifiable by multinationals, because there are alternative mines and potential ores of Coltan scatteres throughout the whole world, and those can provide the mineral for a little higher prize without getting messed with Civil wars and exploiting people.
The next step will be to make a source of public information of the Coltan problematic, and make people aware of problems that happen overseas and that governments plus enterprises don’t want to talk about, when they ought to.
Sources
- Longman, Dictionary of Contemporary English; twelfth impression; 2008
- http://en.wikipedia.org/
- PHEZO D., Mvemba; In Search of Congo’s Coltan; Pambazuka News; 2007 (source: http://www.pulitzercenter.org)
- KORBEL, Petr and MILAN, Novak; The Complete Encyclopedia of Minerals; Grange Books PLC, UK; 2001.
- El Coltan y la Guerra del Congo; Comité de Solidaridad con el África Negra; Madrid; 2003.
