How the Mineral Coltan Fuels Christian Persecution
By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow
In the age of electric vehicles, smartphones, and artificial intelligence, the modern world runs on minerals.
Among the most valuable is coltan — short for columbite-tantalite — a dull black ore that produces tantalum, a heat-resistant metal vital for modern electronics. Tantalum capacitors store and regulate energy in everything from smartphones and laptops to missiles and electric vehicles (EVs). Without it, circuits would overheat, and batteries would fail. Thus, coltan has become an invisible backbone of the global economy.
Yet, beneath its technological brilliance lies a human tragedy. More than 60% of global coltan reserves are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a nation ravaged by decades of armed conflict and corruption.(1)
The U.N. has repeatedly documented how armed groups finance themselves by seizing mines, taxing laborers, and smuggling ore through neighboring states. In 2024, the M23 militia was earning roughly $300,000 a month from the Rubaya coltan region — money used to buy weapons and expand control.(2) The consequences are catastrophic: millions displaced, tens of thousands killed, and entire communities forced into slave labor. Women and children dig ore by hand for less than $2 a day.(3)
Christian villages in mineral-rich provinces often become battlegrounds. Priests have been kidnapped; congregations massacred; churches torched. Clergy call it a “silent genocide,” driven by greed for minerals rather than pure ideology.(4) As one Congolese priest explained, “You terrorize the people, they run away, and then you take over the minerals.”
Once mined, coltan travels through Rwanda or Uganda, then enters Asian refineries, where it is mixed with legal ore. Tracing its origin becomes nearly impossible. Although the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act §1502 requires disclosure of conflict-mineral use, weak enforcement allows tainted supply to persist.
The American sentiment of “going green” is ironic. EVs and renewable energy devices promise sustainability, yet their circuitry may depend on blood-stained minerals. True environmentalism cannot exclude human ethics. The push for clean energy must include a push for a clean conscience. Christians living in conflict zones are paying the real price for our progress.
The Moral Reckoning: What Americans Can Do
The gospel compels believers to confront injustice, especially when daily comforts create unseen suffering. Knowledge dismantles apathy. Churches and universities should teach about conflict minerals as part of stewardship and social justice curricula. Ethical literacy transforms consumers into advocates. Extending device lifespans and choosing repair over replacement reduces mineral demand. Buying refurbished or certified conflict-free products matters. Programs like the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) provide traceable sourcing audits. Supporting brands that join RMI channels capital toward transparency.(5)
The United States can strengthen Dodd-Frank §1502 enforcement, require blockchain-verified mineral tracing, and sanction companies sourcing from militia-controlled zones. Faith-based investors can engage corporations through shareholder advocacy. Supporting organizations like International Christian Concern (ICC) channels aid directly to displaced Congolese Christians. Prayer networks and political petitions amplify their stories. Christian ethics must extend to supply chains. Stewardship involves both creation and neighbor. Clean energy cannot be built on dirty suffering. As Romans 12:21 teaches, believers overcome evil with good — not convenience.
Scientists are developing synthetic substitutes for tantalum and improving e-waste recycling, potentially easing reliance on conflict minerals.(6) Consumers who reward ethical innovation accelerate this shift. A Congolese pastor recently summarized the moral stakes: “When the world finally sees our pain, perhaps God will awaken compassion.”
That awakening must begin with the American church. Technology itself is neutral; the heart behind it is not. As Americans pursue sustainability, we must expand the definition to include human dignity. Every purchase is a vote for either exploitation or justice. The blood in our batteries calls the church to repentance, responsibility, and reform. Let compassion — not consumption — define progress.
Sources
- https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/special-report-conflict-minerals-in-the-drc
- https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-says-congo-rebels-generating-300000-monthly-seized-mining-area-2024-09-30
- https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/mining-trafficking-war-drc-once-started-it-self-financing
- https://www.ncronline.org/news/silent-genocide-unfolding-congo-church-sources-warn
- https://www.responsiblemineralsinitiative.org
- https://www.sciencedirect.com
To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email [email protected]. To support ICC’s work around the world, please give to our Where Most Needed Fund.