Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Coltan is the colloquial name for the mineral columbite-tantalum ("col-tan"). In the early 21st century coltan mining is associated with human rights violations such as child labour, systematic exploitation of the population by governments or militant groups, exposure to toxic chemicals and other hazards as a result of lax environmental protection, and general safety laws and regulations. [1]
According to a 2011 report the total value of the major mineral reserves in the DRC amounted to a total of over 300 billion US dollars at the time. [3] The mining industry in the DRC mainly consists of private, large industrial mines, semi-industrial, and artisanal mines. While private sectors take on large operations, they rely heavily on ...
Coltan (short for columbite–tantalites and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite (after niobium's original American name columbium ), and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite .
Production is expected in 2023. According to a 2011 report the total value of the major mineral reserves in the DRC amounted to a total of over 300 billion US dollars at the time. [45] Smuggling of the conflict minerals, coltan and cassiterite (ores of tantalum and tin, respectively), has helped fuel the war in the Eastern Congo. [46]
The Rubaya mines, also known as the Bibatama Mining Concession, is a series of coltan mining sites near the town of Rubaya [1] in Masisi Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Officially, the mining license is held by Société Minière de Bisunzu Sarl (SMB), associated with Congolese senator Édouard Mwangachuchu . [ 2 ]
Coltan production was perhaps 10 to 15 tonnes per month, half of which was sold directly in Rwanda and the other half transported to Rwanda via Bujumbura. [ 5 ] Between 1987 and 2016 COMEBU had 200 employees in Kabarore and could only exploit 400 kilograms (880 lb) a month, or 4.8 tonnes per year.
Cassiterite production peaked at 1,000 tonnes in 1990, but was under 700 tonnes in 2000. Recorded coltan production has soared from 147 tonnes in 1999 to 1,300 tonnes in 2001, and coltan was the country's biggest single export earner in 2001. At least part of the increase in production is because of new mines opening up in Rwanda.
While the difficulty of obtaining macroscopic samples of synthetic elements in part explains their high value, there has been interest in converting base metals to gold (Chrysopoeia) since ancient times, but only deeper understanding of nuclear physics has allowed the actual production of a tiny amount of gold from other elements for research ...