More than 220 people were killed in two successive landslides on Jan. 28 and 29 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The victims were artisanal miners known as “diggers.” The accident occurred at the Luwowo mining site in Gasasa, within the Rubaya mining perimeter in Masisi territory, North Kivu.
Mines in this area produce around 15% of the global supply of coltan.
Since April 2024, this area has been controlled by the M23, the largest armed group in Congolese territory, supported by Rwanda, according to the United Nations.
The accident occurred as a result of successive risky activities on the rugged and unstable terrain, which was prone to landslides. Prior to the accident, heavy rains had fallen on the region until Jan. 27, the day before. On Jan. 28, the first landslide occurred, according to Ignace Tusali, a journalist with Rubaya’s Amani community radio station, who was contacted by Mongabay on Feb. 1. This landslide was followed by another on Jan. 29.
An ecological tragedy
The diggers work with pickaxes. They delve into long tunnels that they dig in search of coltan, a mineral essential in the manufacture of various gadgets, including cell phones. These tunnels often do not comply with safety measures such as the distance between diggers to ensure soil stability. Inside, where copper and cobalt are mined by hand, the tunnel walls are supported only by pieces of wood, as is also the case in Katanga in southeastern DRC, where previous accidents have occurred.
Around the Luwowo hill, small businesses had sprung up to meet the daily needs of the artisanal miners. These businesses moved closer to the quarries and the entrances of the tunnels. The tunnels dug by the artisanal miners are mostly oriented toward the center of the hill, compromising its stability. These excavations had ultimately weakened the hillside before the recent fatal rains, Tusali points out.
“The entire hill collapsed: After the rain, the earth gave way and the landslide swept everything away, including the market that was located at the foot of the hill,” Tusali explains.
This version of events corroborates the statement made by Eraston Bahati Musanga, the governor of North Kivu, appointed by the M23, who visited the scene of the tragedy. According to his spokesperson, Lumumba Kayembe Muyisa, the death toll stands at 226, as reported by the Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd.
However, Tusali explains, “The exact toll of the accident is still unknown. Many people are still missing, and families are still searching for their loved ones.”
High-risk, unregulated mining
On Jan. 31, the Congolese government, through its spokesperson Patrick Muyaya, said in a press release posted on the communication ministry’s X account that “this accident is a direct consequence of the armed occupation and illegal plundering of natural resources” in the DRC. The statement also emphasized that the Congolese minister of mines had classified the Rubaya mine as a red zone, thus reiterating the need for certification of minerals from this mine, which is currently under the control of the M23.
According to a December 2024 U.N. report, Rwanda is the destination for what are known as 3T mineralstin (cassiterite), tungsten (wolframite) and tantalum (coltan) extracted in the DRC, in the region occupied by the M23. According to the International Tin Supply Chain Initiative, ITSCI, an organization specializing in monitoring the supply chain of 3T minerals in conflict and high-risk areas, Rwandan tantalum exports increased abnormally by 213% between January and June 2025.
For Emmanuel Umpulwa Nkumba, leader of African Natural Resources Watch, a Congolese NGO specializing in mining, this tragedy, like other similar accidents that have occurred previously in the region and elsewhere, such as in Katanga, reflects an administrative deficit. Artisanal mining is informal and controlled by foreign interests, even though the law reserves it for Congolese nationals only. He also notes that safety measures are neither enforced nor monitored.
“After each accident, neither the responsibilities nor the lessons to be learned are identified. As long as maximum extraction is prioritized at the expense of working conditions, these tragedies will continue,” Nkumba stresses.
While artisanal mining in Rubaya gives the impression of rampant looting with disregard for the safety of miners, according to Nkumba, it is nevertheless a result of institutional failure and a breakdown in public regulation.