A mountain collapsed in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), revealing tons of copper underneath its rock face.
Located in the Katanga Region of the Congo in Africa’s Copperbelt, the mountain collapse garnered much social media attention. The video shows people running away from the falling rocks of the mountain face, while others look on, awestruck.
Reactions to the mountain collapse in the Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country rich in natural resources. However, it is affected by severe poverty due to exploitation, conflict, and a lack of basic needs. Congo supplies about 70 percent of the world’s cobalt and about 10 percent of the world’s copper. Conflicts between the nation and several insurgency and rebellion groups have been ongoing for more than a decade.
With the poverty of Congo and its conflicts in mind, many people on social media are concerned that Western countries will see the new massive heap of copper and further exploit the nation for natural resources.
“But the west will not allow any African country to enjoy their resources,” a user on X posted.
“Congolese will no longer live in peace because of their huge mineral deposits…Vultures are already itching,” said another user on X
“Congo is blessed with lots of minerals. Because of these blessings, her leaders and the West will always ensure there is no peace in Congo so that they can continue looting the minerals,” an X user commented under a video of the incident.
Katanga in the Copperbelt
The Katanga region is located in the Copperbelt of Africa, which extends from northwest Luanshya, Zambia to Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This region has been the home of many mining operations aimed at extracting a variety of natural resources such as cobalt and copper since the 1950s.
Cobalt and copper are some of the most important minerals in the world, as they form necessary parts of the technology in smartphones and many modern devices.
Mining in the region, however, is riddled with exploitation. According to a report by Amnesty International done in 2023, the excavation of natural resources has led to human rights being violated and even sexual assaults.
“The forced evictions taking place as companies seek to expand industrial-scale copper and cobalt mining projects are wrecking lives and must stop now,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general. “The people of Congo experienced significant exploitation and abuse during the colonial and post-colonial era, and their rights are still being sacrificed as the wealth around them is stripped away.”
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