A decade ago no one except geologists had heard of tantalum or 'coltan' - an obscure mineral that is an essential ingredient in mobile phones and laptops. Then, in 2000, reports began to leak out of Congo: of mines deep in the jungle where coltan was extracted in brutal conditions watched over by warlords. The United Nations sent a team to investigate, and its exposé of the relationship between violence and the exploitation of coltan and other natural resources contributed to a re-examination of scholarship on the motivations and strategies of armed groups. The politics of coltan encompass rebel militias, transnational corporations, determined activists, Hollywood celebrities, the rise of China, and the latest iGadget. Drawing on Congolese and activist voices, Nest analyses the two issues that define coltan politics: the relationship between coltan and violence in the Congo, and contestation between activists and corporations to reshape the global tantalum supply chain. The way production and trade of coltan is organised creates opportunities for armed groups, but the Congo wars are not solely, or even primarily, about coltan or minerals generally. Nest argues the political significance of coltan lies not in its causal link to violence, but in activists' skillful use of mobile phones as a symbol of how ordinary people and transnational corporations far from Africa are implicated in Congo's coltan industry and therefore its conflict. Nest examines the challenges coltan initiatives face in an activist 'marketplace' crowded with competing justice issues, and identifies lessons from coltan initiatives for the geopolitics of global resources more generally.

The board members of US company Dall & Houston receive a death threat from an alleged Islamic terrorist called Aarohum Al Rashid: unless they return the one billion dollars that they reaped from their direct involvement in the Iraq war, they will be killed off one by one. The plot addresses current global issues like the war for the control of coltan supplies, a mineral so valuable that it has become essential to new technology in the developed world. A great novel, charged with action, intrigue and first-class story telling.

In this book, Michael Nest unravels this complex story to offer a clear and compelling analysis of the relationship between coltan and violence in the Congo, and the battle between activists and corporations to reshape the global tantalum supply chain.

This report evaluates the links between coltan trade and violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and examines the potential for recent legislation to break such links and reduce conflict.

'How old are you?' 'Forty-four.' 'Were you in Rwanda in 1994?' 'Yes.' 'Were you a member of Interahamwe?' 'It was a long time ago.' 'I will ask again,' I hissed near his ear. 'Were you a member of Interahamwe?' He looked up to me. His breath smelled terrible. I almost felt nauseous. 'Yes, I was there and I was killing Tutsi cockroaches. They deserved to die.' This is a story about a Geneva-based Coltan trader being drawn into the Congolese conflict fought over natural resources. Four million dead and counting. Without Coltan, our mobile phones won't work. Why is this mineral so important to the Military Industrial Complex? It all started right after the Rwanda Genocide of 1994... "May I call you the Dutch John le Carré?" in an interview with Alphonse Muambi, Congolese Expert on Africa and Strategic Resources, Globalisation and Development. "I have to say, this is an exciting book," in an interview with Pim van Galen, Journalist at Dutch Public Television (NOS). "The plot is really great!" remark by Cecile Dehopre, Doctors Without Borders."Van Campen not only tells an enrapturing tale, he also uses Coltan Congo's Curse as a storytelling mechanism to raise awareness and confront some major issues like child labour, working conditions and conflict minerals in Congo's mining industry today." - Bas van Abel, CEO and Founder Fairphone.

In the twenty-first century, the relationship between violent conflict and natural resources has become a matter of intense public and academic debate. As a result of fervent activism and international campaigning, the flagship case of ‘conflict minerals’ has captured global attention. This term groups together the artisanal tin, tantalum (coltan), tungsten and gold originating from war zones in Central Africa. Known as ‘digital minerals’ for their use in high-end technology, their exploitation and trade has been singled out in numerous media and United Nations reports as a key driver of violence, provoking an unprecedented popular outcry and prompting transnational efforts to promote ‘conflict-free’, ethical mining. Focusing on the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Conflict Minerals, Inc. is the first comprehensive analysis of this phenomenon. Based on meticulous investigation and long-term fieldwork, this book analyses why the campaign against ‘unethical’ mining went awry, and radically disrupted eastern Congo’s political economy. It dissects the evolution of the conflict minerals paradigm, the policy responses it triggered and their impact on artisanal miners. Vogel demonstrates how Western advocacy and policy have relied on colonial frames to drive change, and how White Saviourism perpetuates structural violence and inequality across global supply and value chains.

Describes the "conflict minerals" mined in the Congo amidst armed conflict and human rights abuses including gold, diamonds, coltan, tin, and tungsten used in cell phones, computers, and other electronics. Explores the slave labor, violence, and disease killing millions of Congolese mining these resources, and offers ways one can help.