Quote:Since the late 19th century, Congo has been a major hub for the extraction of natural resources that earned tremendous profits for the world capitalist economy. From the Belgian rubber plantations of the colonial period to the unregulated looting of coveted minerals in the 21th century, this region has monumental attraction for transnational corporations and international financial institutions.
It is estimated that the DRC contains $24 trillion in mineral deposits that are yet to be extracted. The world’s largest reserves of cobalt and large quantities of diamonds, gold and copper are located insideCongo,particularly in the east and the south.
During the occupation of the eastern region by the RCD rebels in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed group was paid $1 million per month to provide coltan to mining firms. As of 2011, at least 25 international mining firms were involved in the exploitation of the resources in the DRC.
These firms are based in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, the United States and other countries. Two leading firms from the U.S. — Century Aluminum and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold — are well aware of the source and conditions under which these resources are extracted.
http://www.workers.org/2012/11/30/mining...congo-war/
