Over 200 killed in DR Congo coltan mine landslide

More than 200 people, including at least 70 children, have died after a landslide struck a coltan mining area in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the government has said.

The disaster occurred on Tuesday in Rubaya, the country’s largest source of coltan, following heavy rains. The mines ministry blamed the tragedy on M23 rebels, accusing them of allowing illegal mining without proper safety standards.

"The provisional toll counts more than 200 compatriots who lost their lives, including 70 children and numerous wounded," the ministry said in a statement.

The M23 group has yet to comment, but a local source told the BBC that the collapse was caused by attacks from government forces and that only six people had died. The government has not responded to this claim.

Rubaya, which has been under M23 control since 2024, lies about 70 km (45 miles) west of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. The mines there are estimated to hold around 15% of the world’s coltan supply and half of the DRC’s total deposits. Coltan contains tantalum, a metal used in high-performance capacitors for electronics, making it highly sought after globally.

Authorities said rescue operations were hampered by dangerous conditions, which they attributed to restrictions imposed by rebels. They also highlighted the lack of official oversight at the site, leaving miners without basic safety protections.

Many of the injured have been evacuated to hospitals in Goma. The BBC has been unable to independently verify the death toll due to the remoteness of the area and disrupted telecommunications.

The Rubaya site was visited by a BBC team in July 2025, who reported miners digging manually under hazardous conditions, with dangerous pits across the area. A similar landslide at the site in January 2025 also killed over 200 people.

The M23 has expanded rapidly across mineral-rich eastern DRC over the past year, taking control of other coltan mining areas. UN experts have raised concerns that minerals from the region are being exported via Rwanda, allegations also made by the US government, which recently imposed sanctions on the Rwandan army and four of its senior commanders. Rwanda has denied the accusations.

Rubaya has also been included on a shortlist of mining assets offered to the US under a minerals cooperation framework, according to Reuters.