Think

the link

Coltan Mining in the DRC

Comparing Kenya and DRC

(Democratic Republic of Congo)
Keny
a

The map on the left shows

the GDP of the countries of
Africa.
GDP means the average
amount of money each
person in the country has
per year.
The GDP on this map has
been measured in a way
that compares all the
different currencies so
higher numbers =

These men live in the Democratic Republic of

Congo (DRC) one of the poorest countries in
the world. 37% of Congolese people dont
have access to any medical service, 47%
doesnt have safe drinking water, and 50
million people eat less than two-thirds of the
calories they need every day.

People in the area were once farmers. That

changed in 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda
(the countries next door) invaded DRC. The
Rwandan Army wants control of the area and
the minerals within it.
The war has killed
thousands of
people through
fighting,
starvation and
disease. Two
million people
have been forced
from their homes.
Many have been
forced to go and

Kahuzi Biega National Park

in East DRC. This is
rainforest and home to one
of the endangered
mountain gorilla. The
rainforest is being cut down
for mining and gorillas that
live here are being killed for
meat and because their
habitat is going.

These men mine coltan in the war zone. They

have no option. They dig in the soil and then
use large washtubs to slosh the water and
mud. This lets the heavy coltan settle to the
bottom. One man works with his son, who is
ten years old. His son used to go to school but
school is expensive so instead the boy works
to earn money.

The miners are supervised by Rwandan

soldiers. When one finds some coltan, he hands
it to the soldiers who then pay the man a small
amount of money. The soldiers take the coltan
to trading posts controlled by the Rwandan
Army. It is estimated that the Rwandan Army
makes US$20 million a month from coltan
mining.

At the trading posts, foreign traders buy the

coltan and ship it abroad. It is bought by one of
three companies the United States of
Americas Cabot Inc. (USA), HC Starc
(Germany) or Nigncxia (China). These
companies to turn coltan into tantalum powder.
This magic powder is then sold to Nokia,
Motorola, Compaq, Alcatel, Ericsson and Sony.

Boris Johnson owns a mobile phone. The phone

contains magic powder from coltan. It is used
to make the batteries in mobile phones last
longer.
So, when Boris bought a mobile phone, he
connected himself to the coltan miners from the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

What continent is DRC in?

What is the main thing coltan is used for?
Does DRC have a jungle?
What large animal suffers due to coltan
mining?
Which two countrys armies invaded DRC to
get its coltan?
What is the invisible energy given off by
coltan called?
What does DRC stand for?
Why are the gorillas dying out (there are two
reasons).
Name three of the phone companies that use
coltan.

Storyboard
Democratic
Republic of Congo
is one of the
poorest countries
in the world

Under the ground

in DRC there is a
type of rock
called coltan.
This is very
valuable

The people in
east Rwanda
used to live on
the edge of the
rainforest and
work on their
farms

Soldiers from
Rwanda invaded
DRC. Thousands
were killed and
their farms were
dug up to mine
coltan.

The farmers and

their families now
have to work as
miners for very
little money.

Lots of the forest

has been cut
down and miners
often kill gorillas
to eat so the
gorillas are
endangered

The coltan the

miners find is
bought by the
army for very
little money and
then sold to big
companies.

Coltan is used to
make batteries
for the mobile
phones we all use

Think the
link

Stop using Coltan from the

DRC
80% of coltan comes from the
DRC, but Australia, Brazil and
Thailand have reserves too .
We should only buy mobile
phones that use coltan from
these countries.
This is difficult because it is
hard to know where coltan
comes from.

Community conservation
reserves
Conservation reserves are
protected areas where tourists
can see gorillas in their
natural habitat.
The community run the
reserves and charges tourists
entry fees to see the gorillas.
This makes the community
money instead of mining
coltan.
Help coltan miners
Charities such as the Gorilla
Organization help save gorillas
but also improve conditions
for people like the coltan
miners. They have set up a
reforestation project, a foodgrowing project and other

How can we solve the

problem?

Recycle mobile phones

If mobile phones are recycled
fewer new phones are needed,
which reduces the need for
coltan mining. People should
donate old phones to charities
such as Oxfam and to buy
reconditioned phones rather

Which option would each of

these people/things prefer?
a. Gorillas would prefer
because .
b. Coltan miners would
prefer because
.
c. The rainforest would
prefer because
.
d. Mobile phone companies

What should be done?

Write a letter to Boris Johnson to
describe what is happening and
what should be done.
This will needs 2 sections.
1. Use your storyboard to write a paragraph
explaining what is happening
2. Then describe what you think should be done
to improve the situation.
Make sure you explain how your idea will
work.