Since the fall of Rubaya on April 30, 2024, the M23 insurgents are earning an estimated $300,000 from taxing coltan produced in the town. As mentioned by the Voice of America, Rubya has over 70% of the world’s coltan reserves. Extracted from coltan, tantalum is used for the manufacture of smartphones and computers. As stated by Reuters, the head of the U.N. mission in Congo Bintou Keita estimates that 15% of the global supply of tantalum emanates from Rubaya. According to PBS, tantalum is among the minerals named by the Congolese government in a letter written in May to tech company Apple, which it accuses of sourcing critical minerals from Congolese towns like Rubaya. Also in May, a young man from Masisi Territory said the M23 insurgents have set up non-stop operations in Rubaya to exploit the minerals, with women and children participating. During the same period, the Congolese Ministry of Mines published a communiqué asserting that since the M23 seized Rubaya, tons of raw materials from the DRC have been crossing the border of Rwanda daily via the Nyiragongo Territory, which is also controlled by the M23.
