AFRICA/DR CONGO - M23 rebels loot 10 tons of strategic minerals from a plant in South Kivu

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - More than 10 tons of strategic minerals were taken by M23 militiamen from a plant in the Congolese province of South Kivu. This is what was reported by the "Thematic Working Group on Mining and Hydrocarbons of the Civil Society of South Kivu" sent to Fides. The province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), together with the province of North Kivu, is gradually being conquered by M23 militias, supported by Rwanda (see Fides, 18/2/2025).
"During the night of February 19 and 20, 2025, the mineral processing plant of the company 'CJX Minterals' was looted by armed fighters of the M23," the statement reads. The militiamen are said to have turned off the surveillance cameras and abducted security officers from the facility.
According to information from the Congolese civil society organization, the militiamen took a shipment of about 10 tons of the so-called 3T minerals, which were already labeled and prepared for export. The so-called 3T minerals are tin, tungsten (tungsteno) and coltan (tantalum), three strategic minerals for the global electronics, aerospace and military industries that are at the heart of the war in eastern DRC (see Fides, 1/2/2023).
“CJX Minerals” is a private company under Congolese law, founded in 2014, and is the largest exporter of 3T minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"These targeted lootings demonstrate the clear will of the M23 to destroy the local economy for the benefit of Rwanda, whose economy depends on the plundering of the DRC's natural resources," the note says. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 26/2/2025)

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