Shafted: The Scramble for Critical Minerals in the DRC
Publisher: Oakland Institute
Date: 2025
Topics: Extractive Resources, Governance, Peace Agreements
Countries: Congo (DRC), United States
This report’s analysis of previously overlooked coltan trade data shows that the US has been a central actor in laundering illegally smuggled Congolese minerals. Rwanda’s overall tantalum (metallic ore extracted from coltan) exports to the US increased 15-fold between 2013 and 2018. This was after the first M23 invasion in 2012 and at the time when the US administration waived its sanction mechanism against Rwanda. At its peak, over half of US imports of tantalum originated from Rwanda, despite the country’s limited production. Shafted: The Scramble for Critical Minerals in the DRC details how the regional economic integration at the center of the “peace” agreement will legalize this laundering.