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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces substantial slices of critical minerals used in clean energy and other tech, particularly cobalt and coltan. It produces three-quarters of the world’s cobalt, according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
‘Coltan’ is the term used to describe columbite-tantalite, which contains tantalum and niobium. Small amounts of tantalum powder are used to make the heat-resistant capacitors in almost all smart technology that we use, like cellphones and laptops. Nearly half of global tantalum is mined in the DRC, USGS data shows.
Despite its mineral wealth, millions of people in the DRC live in extreme poverty. Artisanal mining (small scale, subsistence) is still predominant and much of the conflict in the DRC reportedly relates to control and movement of these resources.
China is the DRC’s biggest mineral export partner. It refines most of the DRC’s cobalt, which is used in lithium-ion batteries.
Get the data used in this chart on DataDesk
‘Coltan’ is the term used to describe columbite-tantalite, which contains tantalum and niobium. Small amounts of tantalum powder are used to make the heat-resistant capacitors in almost all smart technology that we use, like cellphones and laptops. Nearly half of global tantalum is mined in the DRC, USGS data shows.
Despite its mineral wealth, millions of people in the DRC live in extreme poverty. Artisanal mining (small scale, subsistence) is still predominant and much of the conflict in the DRC reportedly relates to control and movement of these resources.
China is the DRC’s biggest mineral export partner. It refines most of the DRC’s cobalt, which is used in lithium-ion batteries.
Get the data used in this chart on DataDesk