Investigation says coltan from M23-held mines in eastern DRC may have reached global brands
A new investigation has said coltan from mines in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo controlled by the M23 militia may have entered supply chains linked to major international brands. The report focuses on Rubaya in North Kivu province, a major coltan site that it says has been occupied by M23 for two years. It alleges the mineral was smuggled across the border into Rwanda before being moved on through exporters used by large firms.
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The investigation says Amazon, Ericsson and Sony are among companies that may have sourced the mineral, while Microsoft, Toyota, Nvidia and Vodafone are also named as brands that probably received it indirectly. It says the companies acquired the material unknowingly, through supply chains that were not transparent about the origin of the coltan. The report was produced after a year-long investigation and is based on interviews with coltan smugglers, according to the findings described.
Coltan is used in the production of mobile phones and computers, making it a strategically important mineral for the technology sector. The report says Rubaya holds about 15% of the world's coltan, which gives the site significance far beyond eastern DRC. It also says M23 charges a levy on each kilogram of coltan extracted there, creating a revenue stream that helps fund the militia's operations.
The findings matter because they link a widely used industrial mineral to a conflict in which civilians have borne the brunt of the violence. The report says M23 has been accused of widespread sexual violence, summary executions and torture, and that its territorial gains have been accompanied by killings and mass displacement. It argues that the trade in coltan from Rubaya helps sustain the group's control in eastern DRC and raises questions about how global supply chains are monitored.
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The report also places Rwanda at the centre of the alleged smuggling route. It says coltan is moved across the border from DRC into Rwanda and then exported onward, and it claims five of the seven largest Rwandan exporters buy conflict coltan from the DRC. Rwanda denies backing M23, but the report says the mineral has become one of the country's largest export earners, underlining the economic stakes of the trade.
M23 has been a major armed actor in eastern DRC for years, and the report says it is backed by up to 7,000 Rwandan troops deployed within the country. It says the militia captured the Rubaya mines two years ago and has since taxed production there. The UN group of experts has estimated that M23 collects almost £600,000 a month from coltan taxation in Rubaya, according to the investigation's summary of the wider conflict economy.
The report calls for government intervention, sanctions and stronger corporate accountability. It says companies should be held responsible for financial activities that enable M23's occupation of territory in eastern DRC. The findings also add pressure on regulators and buyers in the electronics and automotive sectors, where coltan is a key input and tracing mineral origin can be difficult.
What remains unclear is the full extent of the mineral's path from Rubaya into finished products and which specific supply chains are directly affected. The report says the brands named may have sourced the material, but it does not claim they knowingly bought conflict minerals. The next developments to watch are any company responses, possible government action and whether sanctions or tighter due-diligence rules follow.
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