Thousands of miners burrow into rebel-held hillsides in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, risking their lives daily.

They are digging for coltan. This highly stable mineral is essential for aerospace, computing, and advanced engineering.

The DRC holds the vast majority of global coltan reserves, making it the epicenter of critical mineral extraction.

Miners face extreme heat and deadly conditions. Hundreds have been buried alive in unregulated, collapsing shafts.

Armed rebel groups like M23 control key mines. They extract millions of dollars a month to fund ongoing regional conflicts.

China dominates the sector, controlling over half of global critical mineral production and up to 87% of processing.

To secure U.S. supply chains and counter China, the Trump administration brokered new 'security for minerals' deals with the DRC.

While superpowers negotiate in Washington, well-funded rebel forces use modern weapons to expand their territories on the ground.

The global rush for critical minerals is accelerating. But at the source, unregulated extraction outpaces human rights and ecological safety.