In the African Great Lakes region, MAGIS Foundation, in September 2020, launched the “Gold Without Conflict” Project, that aims to analyze "the gold routes" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Italy, through research on the supply chain, from extraction to sale.

The tragic death of the Italian ambassador and the two men who were with him, occurred last February 22 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have put the spotlight on a country that is extremely poor, despite its vast natural resources, and torn apart by years of conflict, misgovernment, instability and corruption.

Stefano Liberti, journalist and essay writer who collaborates with MAGIS Foundation on the Project, writes on the Espresso:

“It is from the mines scattered throughout the province of Nord-Kivu, that a significant part of the raw materials essential to many tools of our daily lives are extracted. It is from here that coltan comes, a mixture of columbite and tantalite present in cell phones, cameras, micro-chips, as well as in various medical devices. It is also here that we get the gold used in wedding rings, jewellery, but also as a conductor in various electronic devices.

About 2,000 extraction sites, one third controlled by armed groups, and 200,000 people employed in these informal mines, including many children, particularly appreciated for their ability to squeeze into narrow tunnels, without protection, often digging with their bare hands.

Final destination our cell phones

There is a red thread between our everyday devices and items and what is happening in eastern Congo. If the smartphone is now available to everyone, it is also because the extraction of raw materials necessary for its operation takes place in conditions of exploitation, with no respect for the dignity of workers nor for the most basic environmental standards.

And without the Congolese state receiving proper royalties: the militiamen or intermediaries who control this trade smuggle the mineral resources into neighbouring countries.

The path of gold

After being brought illegally to Uganda or Rwanda, gold is exported to South Africa or Dubai, where it is refined and transformed into ingots. In this form, it reaches Europe, the United States, China and India.

The length of the supply chain makes the traceability process complex. But the good news is that this process is now mandatory, at least in the European Union: on January 1, Regulation 821/2017 came into force, obliging European importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten, their minerals, and gold to fulfill due diligence duties, to prevent this trade’s profits from financing conflicts. From now on, those who import coltan and gold into the EU will have to indicate their origin and movements along the supply chain.

The regulation has just come into force. It will be necessary to see how it will be applied in practice. A first important step towards improving living and working conditions in Congolese mines. And to make more transparent a supply chain in which we are more involved than we imagine.”