Is your mobile phone a “conflict” mobile?

“Almost two-thirds of the world's tantalum production ends up in high quality capacitors that are used in devices such as mobile phones and other electronic gadgets.

….For much of the past decade, cheap supplies of tantalum derived from mines under the control of various rebel groups based in the north-eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have flowed into a long and complex supply chain.

Among those groups profiting from this trade are Hutu militia associated with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

….In the same way that the Taliban uses opium to fund its war in Afghanistan, or rebel groups in Colombia thrive off the proceeds of cocaine sales, the civil war in Congo is bankrolled by the sale of illegally mined "conflict resources" such as tantalum.

The International Rescue Committee refugee action group says the conflict has resulted in the death of over 5.4 million Congolese over the past decade.

….Robinson knows where the blame lies. He says it's the pressure being exerted by manufacturers in the electronic industry supply chain to keep prices low that encourages buyers to seek the cheapest possible sources.”

Read: Out of Africa – the blood tantalum in your mobile phone

This has challenged me to perhaps think twice about demanding lower prices when I buy technology! Except if it is a mac, because I think it is valid in that case…. not that I don't like macs, but I might if they were cheaper...