A series of landslides has struck the militia-controlled Rubaya mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, burying miners alive and leaving several people dead, local authorities and witnesses told AFP on Friday.
The incidents occurred in North Kivu province, where the M23 rebel group has tightened its grip on vast mineral-rich areas since its resurgence in 2021. The group seized control of the strategic Rubaya coltan mine in April 2024, with alleged support from Rwanda.
According to witnesses, part of a hillside at the Rubaya mining zone collapsed on Wednesday afternoon following heavy rainfall, with a second landslide occurring on Thursday morning.
“It rained, then the landslide followed and swept people away. Some were buried and others are still trapped in the pits,” freelance miner Franck Bolingo told AFP.
Eraston Bahati Musanga, the M23-appointed governor of North Kivu province, confirmed that the incident was deadly.
“Some bodies have been found,” he said, declining to provide an exact figure but suggesting the death toll could be significant.
AFP said it was unable to independently verify the number of casualties.
Another miner, Olivier Zinzabakwira, said he narrowly escaped death during the first collapse. “There was a landslide on Wednesday while I was inside a pit looking for minerals,” he said.
Despite the danger, dozens of scavengers were still digging through the vast mining site on Friday, AFP video footage showed. Men and women, some wearing tank tops and rubber boots, continued sifting through the pits in search of minerals.
The Rubaya mine is a critical source of coltan, producing an estimated 15 to 30 percent of the global supply of the mineral, which is essential for manufacturing electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.
United Nations experts say the M23 has established a parallel administration to oversee operations at the mine since capturing it. The group is estimated to earn around $800,000 monthly through a seven-dollar-per-kilogram tax on coltan production and sales.
The UN has also accused Rwanda — which denies backing the M23 militarily — of using the armed group to exploit the DRC’s mineral wealth.
Eastern Congo is believed to hold between 60 and 80 percent of the world’s coltan reserves, alongside significant deposits of gold and tin. Due to the ongoing conflict and the M23’s advance, several international mining companies have temporarily suspended operations in the region.
