Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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Gorillas slaughtered for your cell phone - Pay Attention


http://www.cellular-news.com/coltan/

Coltan is mined by hand in the Congo by groups of men digging basins in streams by scrapping off the surface mud. They then "slosh" the water around the crater, which causes the Coltan ore to settle to the bottom of the crater where it is retrieved by the miners. A team can "mine" one kilo of Coltan per day.


Coltan and Gorillas

The main area where Coltan is mined, also contains the Kahuzi Biega National Park, home of the Mountain Gorilla. In Kahuzi Biega National Park the gorilla population has been cut nearly in half, from 258 to 130 as the ground is cleared to make mining easier. Not only has this reduced the available food for the Gorillas, the poverty caused by the displacement of the local populations by the miners has lead to Gorillas being killed and their meat being sold as "bush meat" to the miners and rebel armies that control the area.


A recent report by the UN has claimed that all the parties involved in the local civil war have been involved in the mining and sale of Coltan. One report suggested that the neighboring Rwandan army made US$250 million from selling Coltan in less than 18 months, despite there being no Coltan in Rwanda to mine. The military forces of Uganda and Burundi are also implicated in smuggling Coltan out of Congo for resale in Belgium.

. . .The main area where Coltan is mined, also contains the Kahuzi Biega National Park, home of the Mountain Gorilla. In Kahuzi Biega National Park the gorilla population has been cut nearly in half, from 258 to 130 as the ground is cleared to make mining easier.

. . .American-based Kemet, the world's largest maker of tantalum capacitors, has asked its suppliers to certify that their coltan ore does not come from Dem. Rep. of Congo or from neighboring countries. Such moves could lead to "Gorilla Safe " cellphones being marketed, much in the same way that Tuna meat is now sold as "Dolphin Safe".


Useful links

National Public Radio - US based radio station did a story on this issue - audio of program on their site

Born Free Foundation - a report into Coltan mining commissioned by the Foundation.

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund - fund to save Mountain Gorillas


VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OWj1ZGn4uM

And it's not just coltan, there is a mineral called cassiterite that is also heavily used in electronics manufacture, and is also mined in the Congo.

Your iPod and the Congo

Moneyweb - Fear and loathing - Guns, rockets, filthy minerals

Blood cell phones | The Gustavian Weekly - Gustavus Adolphus College



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