Page "Tantalum" Paragraph 18

Coltan, the industrial name for a columbite – tantalite mineral from which columbium ( i. e. niobium ) and tantalum are extracted, can also be found in Central Africa, which is why tantalum is being linked to warfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( formerly Zaire ).

According to an October 23, 2003 United Nations report, the smuggling and exportation of coltan has helped fuel the war in the Congo, a crisis that has resulted in approximately 5. 4 million deaths since 1998 – making it the world ’ s deadliest documented conflict since World War II.

Ethical questions have been raised about responsible corporate behavior, human rights, and endangering wildlife, due to the exploitation of resources such as coltan in the armed conflict regions of the Congo Basin.

However, although important for the local economy in Congo, the contribution of coltan mining in Congo to the world supply of tantalum is usually small.

The United States Geological Survey reports in its yearbook that this region produced a little less than 1 % of the world's tantalum output in 2002 – 2006, peaking at 10 % in 2000 and 2008.