In Congo fighting a bloody war, with most of the dead obviously innocent, as tradition. Not that he has spoken lot: almost anything, near zero. Some articles in newspapers more careful, some investigation in that broadcast that TV advertising furbissimo call "niche" a lot of space on http://www.misna.org/ (the website of the Catholic missions, very interesting ), practically nothing on the news. This war, in short, nobody cares who, where, when, why? Well, for those who want interest ... It turns the page.
Yet this war concerns us, because all the dead have died for your phone, for the smart phone for the playstation, the portable computer: these things here, in fact. If I forgot someone, of these objects, you add it.
The subject of this war is coltan, a mineral name that is extracted in the Kivu region bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a border region, it is obvious that these fields (there are also uranium, gold, and many other things) are hotly disputed between various nations. I will not dwell so just go to a search engine and type something like "Coltan Congo war to find all the necessary information.
Coltan is a trade name, confidential: it is the names of two chemical elements (very rare) which is mainly composed, the Niobium (the Americans call Columbia) and Tantalum .
Information about these compounds, and coltan in general, take from the site http://www.wikipedia.it/ :
"The Niobium is used in the metallurgical industry for the preparation of metal alloys with high melting point, to increase resistance to corrosion in some types of stainless steel and, finally, in the preparation of superconducting electromagnetic. The Tantalum is used in the form of metal powder in the electronics and semiconductor industries for the construction of capacitors with high capacity and small size which are widely used in mobile phones and computers. " In the nineteenth century it was thought that
Niobium and Tantalum were only one element, which was called Columbia, and only later discovered that there were two distinct elements. The mineral in which they are called columbite-tantalite, and contains two different oxides, which wastes no time in copying the chemical formula, in which niobium and tantalum is combined with iron and manganese.
by http://www.wikipedia.it/ :
coltan (columbo-tantalite contraction) is the common name, colloquial use in Africa (in the geographical region of the Congo) and sometimes by the Mining in Africa for columbite-tantalite in the relatively high content of tantalum. The term coltan has received a particular response from the media about the implications of social, ethical and political takes on Congo and Rwanda in Africa, mining and sales subsidiary of paralegal and columbo-tantalite. The ore mined in these countries is used as a lucrative source of income by various guerrilla movements and contributes thereby indirectly to fuel the civil war in the Congo region.
Major of columbo-tantalite mineral deposits are located in Western Australia, Nigeria and especially Brazil, where it is also the most concentrated deposits of pyrochlore world (the primary mineral extraction) takes place the highest world production of niobium with 29,900 tonnes in total. (...) The largest producer in Africa and Mozambique with 260 tons per year. Other African producers are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Katanga Province), Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia with annual production of less than 50 tons. The amount of total reserves in Africa has not yet been rated. The disproportion between the total world production of niobium (34,000 tons including also the pyrochlore) and tantalum (about 1900 tonnes) is an indicator of rarity in nature as a chemical element tantalum.
The commercial value of tantalum is very high and, consequently, a low production, such as the DRC, can provide high economic gains. With increasing global demand for tantalum, has become particularly keen struggle between paramilitary groups and guerrillas for control of the territories of Congolese extraction. Area is particularly interested in the Congolese region of Kivu (central-eastern border of Democratic Republic of Congo) and the two neighboring countries, Rwanda and Uganda, brokers who deal with the sale of coltan in these two countries they source, in fact, from Congolese mineral deposits. The proceeds of the semi-legal trade of coltan (as well as other valuable natural resources) implemented by the guerrillas who control the provinces of eastern Congo, fueling the civil war in these areas. (...)
The complete entry on Wikipedia is very long and very detailed, also includes the traffic in arms (with whom he is often "traded" coltan), corporate interests, et cetera. I, for today I will stop here, just remember that in the Periodic System niobium and tantalum are part of the transition elements (the central part of the table) that has the symbol Niobium Nb and atomic number 41, while the Tantalum whose symbol Ta and atomic number 73.
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