Mining of Cell Phone Mineral Suspended in Key Wildlife Area

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TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Mining of Cell Phone Mineral Suspended in Key Wildlife Area

NEW YORK, BRONX, Apr. 4 -/E-Wire/-- Park guards and military personnel have successfully stopped illegal mining of coltan, a mineral used in the manufacture of cellphones, in the Okapi Faunal Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Wildlife Conservation Society has learned.

According to WCS conservationist Terese Hart, the miners were given one week to leave, but abandoned their camps even before guards reached them. Coltan mining has resulted in widespread poaching of bushmeat to feed miners in the Okapi Faunal Reserve, Kahuzi-Biega National Park and other areas.

"This is a major first step in ending illegal mining from World Heritage Sites in Congo. WCS commends the Congolese government and park guards for their commitment to protecting this area," said Dr. Hart.

It remains to be seen whether the miners actually left the reserve or just the camps, and whether regular patrols will continue in the area of the mining activity.

According to Hart, the race to mine coltan in the Okapi Faunal Reserve began in early 2000, with the amount of miners swelling to around 4,000 before last week's expulsion. To sustain the camps, miners hunted antelope, gorillas, monkeys, elephants and other wildlife.

A basic component of cell phones, and the key to their small size, is a passive capacitor, which regulates voltage and stores energy. This capacitor consists of a compacted powder made from the mineral colombo-tantalite, also known as coltan or tantalum. The principal sources of coltan are found in Australia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Australia, the latter of which contains 80 percent of all known deposits.

With the worldwide use of cell phones skyrocketing -- over 500 million expected to be sold in 2001 -- the price of coltan has also exploded. In 1990 it was about $20 per pound, in 1997 about $40, and in 2001 over $350. In 1995, Congo's dictator Joseph Mobutu sold the mining concession for coltan to a Canadian company which operated through two Rwandan companies (SAKIMA and RMA). When Laurent Kabila seized power in 1997 he annulled this agreement. Mining has since then been a free-for-all with thousands digging in and around the park while subsisting on bushmeat and any other foods that can be bought or stolen.

WCS is now working to ensure that the coltan miners stay out of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve permanently. At the same time, the Congolese Government needs to make a similar commitment to removing miners from Kahuzi-Biega National Park, which contains the world's last stronghold of Grauer's gorillas, one of four gorilla sub-species.

Cell phone users can help by putting pressure on manufacturers to stop accepting coltan from eastern Congo until all national parks are cleared of illegal miners, according to WCS.

Wildlife Conservation Society

STEPHEN SAUTNER ([REDACTED-PHONE]; [REDACTED-EMAIL]), JOHN DELANEY ([REDACTED-PHONE]; [REDACTED-EMAIL])

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