Congo’s rebel-held coltan mines continue to pump ore for world’s tech

Deep in the green hills of Masisi territory in North Kivu province, the artisanal mining site at Rubaya hums with the sound of generators as piles of white dust dot the landscape.

Thousands of workers extract, by hand, strategic minerals such as coltan, cassiterite, and manganese—essential for the production of phones, batteries, and other modern technologies.

Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades with more than 100…