KINSHASA (Reuters) -The Democratic Republic of Congo has extended for six months a ban on the trading of minerals from dozens of artisanal mining sites in conflict-hit North and South Kivu provinces, the mines ministry said.
The extension adds compliance pressure on global supply chains for tin, tantalum and tungsten, key inputs for the electronics, automotive and aerospace industries.
The ban, introduced in February, is being kept in place because of evidence that illegal supply from mines is financing armed groups in the east, according to an order dated November 3 and signed by the mines minister Louis Watum Kabamba.
The order, which the ministry posted to social media on Sunday, applies to 38 sites producing coltan, cassiterite and wolframite – ingredients for tin, tantalum and tungsten – in Masisi territory in North Kivu and Kalehe territory in South Kivu.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and other armed groups have captured significant territory in mineral-rich eastern Congo.
An offensive by M23 this year has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
Mineral wealth has long been seen as fuelling violence in the east, with combatants using coltan, cassiterite and gold sites to fund their operations, according to U.N. experts and rights groups.
A U.N. report in December 2024 said revenues from smuggled minerals were funding military operations, sustaining a war economy and prolonging violence.
The mines ministry order prohibits sourcing and export from the mining sites in question and says they may face independent audits by the ministry or international bodies, including the U.N. and OECD.
Congo filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium against Apple subsidiaries in 2024, alleging supply chains included minerals pillaged from conflict zones, despite Apple’s disclosures under U.S. law.
Apple denied the allegations, saying it had told suppliers to stop purchasing minerals from the Congo and Rwanda.
U.S. courts have also heard claims against Apple, Google, Tesla, Dell and Microsoft over alleged reliance on cobalt mined under abusive conditions in Congo, though those suits were dismissed.
(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Susan Fenton)
