The town of Rubaya sits in east Congo as a place of big opposites. Many hundreds of thousands of people live there because of coltan mining. This mineral helps make phones and computers work well across the world. The same rocks that bring cash also cause fighting. Armed groups want to control these valuable digging spots. Near the mountains with big pits, miners work with just their hands. The small huts show how hard these people live. They dig all day, hoping to find enough coltan to buy food for their kids and themselves.
A miner named Prospere Mihigo works every day to feed his family. His simple words hide how tough life feels in this war area. Rubaya makes a lot of coltan, about 6,000 to 7,000 tons each year. This makes the town very important. Since late 2021, North Kivu has seen many fights between Congo army troops and the M23 group. Congo says Rwanda helps these rebels, but Rwanda says this claim lies. East Congo may hold up to 80 percent of all coltan on Earth. This brings outside interest, yet local people stay poor.
Mihigo and thousands more work in small, unsafe tunnels. They start before the sun comes up, stuck in hot, dark spaces for hours. Even small kids dig here, some as young as 10 years old. They face health risks and danger, but many see no other way to live with all the fighting around them. The UN wrote in September 2024 that M23 took over Rubaya in April of that year. They make miners pay taxes on what they find. The rebels charge seven dollars for each kilogram of coltan and four dollars for each kilogram of tin.
This means M23 might make 840,000 dollars each month just from 120 tons of coltan in Rubaya. Before M23 came, miners earned less than three dollars per day. The rebels let them earn more, at least twice as much, many told news people. But working long hours in bad spots with almost no safety gear makes this pay seem very small. Armed men guard the main places in town. Trucks try to bring stuff from Goma, the big city 60 km away. The market buzzes with buying and selling. Some think outside groups fund the war through secret deals.
A mine boss named Jean-Dedieu Sabimana says they can sell minerals easier since M23 arrived. The rebel group keeps other armed gangs away, which helps them work better for the moment. Congo points at Rwanda as the main winner from rebel-area minerals. Most miners cared only about feeding their families. They sell to local buyers because they lack ways to reach far markets. Congo mines boss Kizito Pakobomba said in February that Congo minerals bring sadness to Congo people. He claimed Rubaya coltan moves through secret paths to Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.
Congo spokesperson Patrick Muyaya says Rwanda is fighting this war to steal Congo resources. He states that Rwanda built its money system by taking Congo's stuff for 30 years. This steals what could build roads, schools, and hospitals. Rwanda leader Paul Kagame always says no link exists between his country and M23. He thinks other nations want Congo minerals more than Rwanda does. These outsiders keep the problems going, he says. Almost a year after losing Rubaya, Congo still struggles to stop M23 rebels. They keep taking more mining areas.
On March 20, M23 fighters grabbed Walikale-Center, another key mining town. This place has many good minerals and helps with trade and shipping. Just before Walikale fell on March 13, big mining company Alphamin Resources stopped work at nearby Bisie. They feared M23 attacks. Bisie ranks as the third biggest tin mine on Earth. It makes about 6 percent of all tin mined across the world. When Bisie stopped mining, tin prices jumped almost 10 percent on the London market. This pushed the price to 36,315 per ton, the highest since August 2022.
Xia Huang from the UN said back in 2021 that stolen natural goods drive problems in east Congo. He explained that taking and selling these items without permission causes the fights that hurt East Congo and nearby areas. M23 rebels already took several towns, even Goma and Bukavu, the main cities of the North and South Kivu areas. About one million people have run away from their homes since late January. Around 400,000 children had to leave. The UN thinks more will be needed to run as fighting keeps going across both Kivu areas.
UN helper Nada Al-Nashif said the Congolese people need local, national, and regional leaders to show real leadership. These leaders must choose to talk over selfish wants, greed, and violence. The mines of east Congo show how wealth and pain can exist in the same place. As rebels control more land, regular people suffer the most. They dig for minerals worth billions yet earn just dollars per day. The path to peace seems hard to find when valuable rocks lie under the ground, tempting all sides to keep fighting.
A miner named Prospere Mihigo works every day to feed his family. His simple words hide how tough life feels in this war area. Rubaya makes a lot of coltan, about 6,000 to 7,000 tons each year. This makes the town very important. Since late 2021, North Kivu has seen many fights between Congo army troops and the M23 group. Congo says Rwanda helps these rebels, but Rwanda says this claim lies. East Congo may hold up to 80 percent of all coltan on Earth. This brings outside interest, yet local people stay poor.
Mihigo and thousands more work in small, unsafe tunnels. They start before the sun comes up, stuck in hot, dark spaces for hours. Even small kids dig here, some as young as 10 years old. They face health risks and danger, but many see no other way to live with all the fighting around them. The UN wrote in September 2024 that M23 took over Rubaya in April of that year. They make miners pay taxes on what they find. The rebels charge seven dollars for each kilogram of coltan and four dollars for each kilogram of tin.
This means M23 might make 840,000 dollars each month just from 120 tons of coltan in Rubaya. Before M23 came, miners earned less than three dollars per day. The rebels let them earn more, at least twice as much, many told news people. But working long hours in bad spots with almost no safety gear makes this pay seem very small. Armed men guard the main places in town. Trucks try to bring stuff from Goma, the big city 60 km away. The market buzzes with buying and selling. Some think outside groups fund the war through secret deals.
A mine boss named Jean-Dedieu Sabimana says they can sell minerals easier since M23 arrived. The rebel group keeps other armed gangs away, which helps them work better for the moment. Congo points at Rwanda as the main winner from rebel-area minerals. Most miners cared only about feeding their families. They sell to local buyers because they lack ways to reach far markets. Congo mines boss Kizito Pakobomba said in February that Congo minerals bring sadness to Congo people. He claimed Rubaya coltan moves through secret paths to Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.
Congo spokesperson Patrick Muyaya says Rwanda is fighting this war to steal Congo resources. He states that Rwanda built its money system by taking Congo's stuff for 30 years. This steals what could build roads, schools, and hospitals. Rwanda leader Paul Kagame always says no link exists between his country and M23. He thinks other nations want Congo minerals more than Rwanda does. These outsiders keep the problems going, he says. Almost a year after losing Rubaya, Congo still struggles to stop M23 rebels. They keep taking more mining areas.
On March 20, M23 fighters grabbed Walikale-Center, another key mining town. This place has many good minerals and helps with trade and shipping. Just before Walikale fell on March 13, big mining company Alphamin Resources stopped work at nearby Bisie. They feared M23 attacks. Bisie ranks as the third biggest tin mine on Earth. It makes about 6 percent of all tin mined across the world. When Bisie stopped mining, tin prices jumped almost 10 percent on the London market. This pushed the price to 36,315 per ton, the highest since August 2022.
Xia Huang from the UN said back in 2021 that stolen natural goods drive problems in east Congo. He explained that taking and selling these items without permission causes the fights that hurt East Congo and nearby areas. M23 rebels already took several towns, even Goma and Bukavu, the main cities of the North and South Kivu areas. About one million people have run away from their homes since late January. Around 400,000 children had to leave. The UN thinks more will be needed to run as fighting keeps going across both Kivu areas.
UN helper Nada Al-Nashif said the Congolese people need local, national, and regional leaders to show real leadership. These leaders must choose to talk over selfish wants, greed, and violence. The mines of east Congo show how wealth and pain can exist in the same place. As rebels control more land, regular people suffer the most. They dig for minerals worth billions yet earn just dollars per day. The path to peace seems hard to find when valuable rocks lie under the ground, tempting all sides to keep fighting.
