The mines of columbite and tantalite, which result in coltan, wiped out the majority of the population of gorillas and elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its production involves, besides the killing of animals, deeply human and environmental exploitation.

Coltan is an important mineral for the manufacture of mobile phones, plasma TVs, laptops, digital cameras, satellites and various other technologies. And columbite and tantalite have their major focus of mining in Africa, which accounts for 80% of all coltan used by electro-electronic industries in the world.

The extraction methods are rudimentary and promote deep human exploration. Countryside people, prisoners of war, war refugees and children draw columbite and tantalite and are always guarded by soldiers. The results are children out of school, death by collapsing of tunnels, diseases due to lack of clean water, sanitation and food, struggle of armed groups for the mines, deaths of children (it is estimated that each kilogram of coltan resulted in the death of two children), transformation of forest and farmland in everglades, forced evictions, rape of women and girls etc..

The environmental consequences are also alarming: the extraction of coltan, national ecological parks of the Democratic Republic of Congo were invaded and  80% of the population of elephants and 90% of the gorillas for 90% were killed, bringing their population almost to extinction.

It is said that most multinational handset manufacturers are involved in the purchase of Congolese coltan and maintenance of corrupt governments and wars for the extraction of the mineral.

Coltan is a glaring example of how capitalism crosses over human dignity and wildlife for profit and attendance of not so necessary “needs” and shows how the corporate industry today has no sense of environmental responsibility , or even respect for life.

Even if a total boycott of the companies that buy coltan Congolese is not possible, it is worth trying to buy a minimum of portable electronics, for the sake of human and nonhuman animals that are being exploited and slaughtered in the Democratic Republic of Congo.