Six Miners Killed in Shaft Collapse at Rubaya Coltan Mine in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

At least six artisanal miners lost their lives yesterday, when a shaft collapsed at the Gasasa quarry within the sprawling Rubaya coltan mining complex in North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rescue teams recovered the bodies of three women and three men from the debris, with several other workers reported seriously injured.

The collapse occurred in one of the many hand-dug pits that characterise Rubaya, the single largest coltan extraction site in the region and a major contributor to global supply—accounting for an estimated 15–30 per cent of worldwide production of the mineral essential for electronics manufacturing. Thousands of miners operate in the area under extremely hazardous conditions, relying on basic tools and minimal safety equipment.

This is the second deadly accident at Rubaya in recent weeks. At the end of January 2026, heavy rainfall triggered a massive landslide at the same mining complex, killing at least 200 people and burying scores of workers and makeshift structures.

Since April 2024, Rubaya has been under the control of the M23 rebel movement, which is widely documented to receive support from Rwanda. The group levies a tax of $7 per kilogramme on coltan production and sales, generating an estimated $800,000 per month from the site, according to UN Group of Experts reports and local monitoring data.

The M23’s resurgence since late 2021 has seen the group capture vast areas of eastern DR Congo, exploiting the region’s mineral wealth amid three decades of conflict. Violence around Rubaya has intensified in recent weeks, including a drone strike on February 24, 2026, that killed M23 military spokesman Willy Ngoma.

Artisanal mining in eastern Congo remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Shafts are often unsupported, prone to collapse from poor construction, heavy rain, or seismic activity. Miners – many of them women and children – work without helmets, ventilation, or emergency escape routes, facing risks from rockfalls, flooding, toxic dust, and violence linked to control of lucrative pits.

The latest tragedy has renewed attention to the human cost of coltan extraction in a conflict zone. While the mineral fuels global technology supply chains, the miners who extract it endure extreme danger, exploitation, and insecurity. Relatives gathered at the site searching for missing family members, while rescue operations continued in unstable conditions.

No official statement has been released by M23 authorities controlling Rubaya or by the Congolese government on the incident. The Democratic Republic of Congo remains the world’s leading producer of coltan, yet the sector is dominated by informal, unregulated artisanal mining that leaves workers vulnerable to both natural and man-made hazards.