KINSHASA, March 4 (Reuters) – More than 200 people died on Tuesday in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s mines ministry said on Wednesday.
A senior official from the AFC/M23 rebel group, which controls the mine, told Reuters earlier that only five or six died in the accident.
Rubaya produces around 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines.
The site, which has been under the control of the AFC/M23 rebel group since 2024, was recently added to a shortlist of mining assets being offered by the Congolese government to the United States under a minerals cooperation framework.
“The damaged site is one of those where continued operation had been discouraged pending the securing of the area and the implementation of protective measures for miners. The incident is due to the heavy rains of the last few days,” another senior AFC/M23 official told Reuters.
The mines ministry said that around 70 children were among the victims and that many injured were evacuated to health facilities in the city of Goma.
An M23 spokesperson wasn’t immediately available for comment on the government’s toll.
The latest incident came a month after another disaster at the site killed more than 200 people in late January.
(Reporting by Congo newsroom and Clement Bonnerot; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
