“Our whole life is there,” survivors return to Congo’s deadliest mine

A new humanitarian tragedy has shaken eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after a major collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine killed more than 200 people over the course of several days, making it one of the deadliest mining accidents the region has seen in recent years.

The collapse occurred in an area already marked by severe insecurity and economic fragility, where thousands of residents rely on artisanal mining as their only source of income. Most work in dangerous conditions, amid a near-total absence of safety standards and weak oversight.

Rubaya holds major global significance, producing an estimated 15 percent of the world’s coltan — a strategic mineral essential to advanced technologies, from smartphones and computers to aviation components and gas turbines. Yet despite the mine’s importance, the vast majority of workers operate under primitive conditions, digging unsupported tunnels with basic hand tools for meager wages that do little to reflect the daily risks they face.

According to sources, the collapse happened suddenly in one of the mine’s active sections, trapping dozens of workers beneath rubble. Rescue efforts were severely hampered by the lack of heavy equipment and technical preparedness. The mine’s rugged terrain and extreme overcrowding inside tunnels further contributed to the high death toll.

Since 2024, the Rubaya mine has been under the control of the armed AFC/M23 group, adding a political and security dimension to the disaster. Mining activities take place outside official state frameworks, governed by informal arrangements that lack even minimal regulatory or safety standards. Observers say armed groups’ control of mining sites across eastern Congo has intensified the exploitation of both natural resources and labor, turning these areas into recurring humanitarian flashpoints.

As families mourn the dead, survivors say economic pressure is already pushing many back toward the mines.

In the Mugunga neighborhood of Goma, relatives and neighbors gathered Monday at the home of Bosco Nguvumali Kalabosh, 39, sitting near a photograph placed against the wall as they mourned his death, the Associated Press reported.

“He was supposed to return to Goma on Thursday,” said his brother, Thimothée Kalabosh Nzanga. Kalabosh had worked as a miner for more than a decade and owned his own mining pits at Rubaya. Artisanal mining had been passed down through the family for generations, Nzanga told AP. Kalabosh leaves behind a widow and four children, the eldest just five years old. His family has received no compensation.

Survivors who returned to Goma told AP that financial desperation is forcing many to continue working despite the danger. “Seeing our peers die is very painful,” said Tumaini Munguiko, a survivor of the collapse who visited Kalabosh’s family to offer condolences. “But despite the pain, we are forced to return to the mines to survive.”

A former Rubaya miner, Clovis Mafare, told AP repeated collapses are the result of unsafe and poorly maintained tunnels. “People dig everywhere, without control or safety measures.” “In a single pit, there can be as many as 500 miners, and because the tunnels run parallel, one collapse can affect many pits at once.”

Mafare added that miners have no insurance and that compensation for families is rare. “They might receive some money for funerals, but that small amount isn’t compensation,” he said.

Despite the risks, both Munguiko and Nzanga said they expect to return to the mines soon. “I have no choice,” Munguiko said. “Our whole life is there.”

The disaster once again highlights what is often described as the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s “resource curse,” where immense mineral wealth coexists with extreme poverty, and mines become sites of death rather than engines of development. It has also revived international debate over critical mineral supply chains and the ethical responsibility of global companies that depend on raw materials extracted under dangerous conditions and in conflict zones.