Published TUESDAY November 4, 2025: 'Congo RESOURCE WAR' by ZUMA Press award winning Xinhua photo-journalist Zheng Yangzi: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to some of the most critical minerals used in modern technology and industry. Despite possessing such a significant share of the world's mineral wealth, the Congolese people see little benefit, as much of the extraction and trade is controlled by armed groups and foreign interests. The central African country has gone from a history of war fueled by its mineral wealth to challenges in managing these resources for peace and economic benefit. Conflicts have been driven by armed groups fighting over control of mines for resources like cobalt, copper, and coltan, which they illicitly extract and sell to fund their operations. Efforts like the DRC-Rwanda peace process and U.S. sanctions aim to disrupt this cycle by promoting stability, demilitarizing conflict zones, and tracing minerals to ensure they don't fund violence. However, persistent issues like weak governance, corruption, and human rights abuses in mining areas continue to hinder progress. The DRC is currently facing one of the most acute humanitarian emergencies in the world, with food insecurity on the rise and 5.9 million Congolese currently internally displaced. Welcome to 'Congo RESOURCE WAR'
© zReportage.com Issue #1012 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY November 4, 2025: 'Congo RESOURCE WAR' by ZUMA Press award winning Xinhua photo-journalist Zheng Yangzi: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC is home to some of the most critical minerals used in modern technology and industry. Despite possessing such a significant share of the world's mineral wealth, the Congolese people see little benefit, as much of the extraction and trade is controlled by armed groups and foreign interests. The central African country has gone from a history of war fueled by its mineral wealth to challenges in managing these resources for peace and economic benefit. Conflicts have been driven by armed groups fighting over control of mines for resources like cobalt, copper, and coltan, which they illicitly extract and sell to fund their operations. Efforts like the DRC-Rwanda peace process and U.S. sanctions aim to disrupt this cycle by promoting stability, demilitarizing conflict zones, and tracing minerals to ensure they don't fund violence. However, persistent issues like weak governance, corruption, and human rights abuses in mining areas continue to hinder progress. The DRC is currently facing one of the most acute humanitarian emergencies in the world, with food insecurity on the rise and 5.9 million Congolese currently internally displaced. Welcome to 'Congo RESOURCE WAR'

Miners at work at an open pit coltan mining site in the town of Rubaya, Republic of the Congo. A silent war for control over one of the world's most strategic minerals is raging. The M23 rebel group has maintained control over Rubaya's lucrative coltan mining sites. The ore columbite-tantalite, commonly known as coltan yields tantalum, a rare metal essential for manufacturing smartphones, fighter jets, medical implants, and advanced electronics. According to UN estimates, Rubaya alone accounts for more than 15 percent of the world's tantalum supply.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Rare earth mineral coltan ore extracted from a coltan mining site in the town of Rubaya, in the DRC. Rubaya has once again found itself at the heart of a global supply chain entangled in armed conflict and rebel rule. The ore columbite-tantalite, commonly known as coltan yields tantalum, a rare metal essential for manufacturing smartphones, fighter jets, medical implants, and advanced electronics. According to United Nations estimates.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Wearing a Lakers NBA shirt, a miner transports ore extracted from a mine shaft at a coltan mining site in the town of Rubaya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rubaya has once again found itself at the heart of a global supply chain entangled in armed conflict and rebel rule. The ore columbite-tantalite, commonly known as coltan yields tantalum, a rare metal essential for manufacturing todays advanced electronics.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Miners load excavated ore at an open pit coltan mining site in the town of Rubaya. The town in a remote area in the eastern region of DRC, has once again found itself at the heart of a global supply chain entangled in armed conflict and rebel rule. The March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group has maintained control over Rubaya's lucrative coltan mining sites.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Miners load excavated ore at an open pit coltan mining site in the town of Rubaya, a remote area in the eastern DRC, which has once again found itself at the heart of a global supply chain entangled in armed conflict and rebel rule. The March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group has maintained control over Rubaya's lucrative coltan mining sites.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Men and women work with digging tools at a coltan open pit mining site in the town of Rubaya. In the mist-veiled highlands of Masisi territory, a silent war for control over one of the world's most strategic minerals is raging. The March 23 (M23) rebel group has maintained control over Rubaya's lucrative coltan mining sites.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Busy street scene with taxis and motorcycles in the center of Goma, capital of North Kivu in the DRC. The eastern region has been mired in decades of conflict, particularly offensives by the M23 fighters, a rebellion Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

A working boy transports sugarcane to a local market in Sake, a small town located near Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many residents of Sake were forced to flee their homes due to attacks by the rebel group known as M23.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Displaced Congolese are pictured around an iron-sheet shelter near a former camp for internally displaced persons on the outskirts of Goma, in the DRC. Camps have been gradually dismantled since the rebel group known as M23 announced its capture of Goma. Many of the occupants there now have to live in shelters near their former camps, facing hardships such as food shortages, lack of clean drinking water, and unsanitary conditions.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

A child who lost the left leg in the local conflict walks with crutches at Ndosho Hospital in Goma. The security situation in the eastern DRC has deteriorated in recent years.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

A father who lost his left leg in the local conflict rests beside his sleeping daughter at Ndosho Hospital in Goma. The security situation in the eastern DRC has deteriorated in recent years.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

An injured mother takes care of her baby at Ndosho Hospital in Goma, The Hospital in North Kivu province, has built temporary tents in its parking lot to relieve pressure and increased its bed capacity to approximately 130, as the security situation in the eastern DRC has deteriorated in recent years.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Displaced Congolese shelter in tents provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North Kivu province in the DRC. Many residents of Sake were forced to flee their homes due to attacks by the rebel group known as M23.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

A child crawls on the floor inside a tent medical ward at Ndosho Hospital in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Hospital, located in Goma in North Kivu province in the eastern DRC, has built temporary tents in its parking lot to relieve pressure and increased its bed capacity to approximately 130, as the security situation in the eastern DRC has deteriorated in recent years.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

A local resident sews clothes for customers at a market in Sake, a small town located 27 kilometers from Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Two children transport goods to sell at a local market in Sake, near Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

A man transports goods with a homemade wooden bike in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC has one of the world's highest poverty rates, with an estimated 73.5 percent of people living on less than USD 2.15 a day.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Children play in a house damaged by conflict in Sake, a small town near Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many residents of Sake were forced to flee their homes due to attacks by the rebel group known as M23.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

With a backdrop of lush green hillsides, miners work at an open pit coltan mining site in the town of Rubaya. In the mist-veiled highlands of Masisi territory, a silent war for control over one of the world's most strategic minerals is raging. The March 23 (M23) rebel group has maintained control over Rubaya's lucrative coltan mining sites in the DRC.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press

Miners at work at a open pit coltan mining site in the town of Rubaya. In the mist-veiled highlands of Masisi territory, a silent war for control over one of the world's most strategic minerals is raging. The March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group has maintained control over Rubaya's lucrative coltan mining sites. The ore columbite-tantalite, commonly known as coltan yields tantalum, a rare metal essential for manufacturing smartphones, fighter jets, medical implants, and advanced electronics. According to United Nations estimates, Rubaya alone accounts for more than 15 percent of the world's tantalum supply.
© Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua via ZUMA Press