DRC: Miner vs. Miner: A Different Kind of Mineral Conflict

Dec 11, 2014 | Sabri Ben-Achour, Marketplace
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Biyamungu Ngalikyana, in his mid-20s, sports shiny white rubber boots and a mining helmet as he walks down a dirt road in the mining town of Luhwindja in south Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. A former Mai Mai rebel fighter, he now digs for gold hundreds of feet beneath the surface. He’s what’s known as an "artisanal miner," which means he’s just a regular person with hand tools, as opposed to a mechanized industrial outfit.

Mining in the Eastern DRC has, over the past two decades, become an important source of revenue for individuals and towns during periods of insecurity and war. There are an estimated half million artisanal miners in Congo. At Luhwindja, 6,000 people in this town depend on the gold in the hills.

Perhaps not for much longer.