One video which features two men with a kind of metallic ore in the Democratic Republic of Congo has gained a lot of popularity on the internet. The reason why the record went viral is that when they connect two ends of a wire to the stone, a light is turned on, as if the stone were charged with electricity.
Magic or electric stones?
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The images made some internet users compare the strange ore to Marvel's fictional metal, the vibranium. Even though there is still no specific confirmation of what that stone in the video really is, chances are it is a mineral called coltan. And before we talk more about coltan, take a look at the record below:
Coltan is derived from two other minerals: columbite and tantalite. Hence the origin of the name.
The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to be the country with the largest reserves of these two ores, even though they are used as a source of two of the most important elements for the manufacture of electronics: niobium and tantalum. Brazil also has large reserves of columbite and tantalite. It is no wonder that we are the second largest exporter of tantalum in the world and the first in relation to niobium.
meet coltan
Although you've probably never heard of it, know that it can be present on your cell phone, computer, tablet and other electronic devices. In addition, its application can be aimed at advanced metallic alloys, which are widely used in biomedicine and in the space industry.
Coltan is part of a very complex socioeconomic context in the Democratic Republic of Congo, due to the exploitation of mineral reserves in the country, where labor is used in conditions similar to or very close to those slavery, besides childish.
In addition to this problem, wars are also a constant in the country. Everyone is looking to mine these valuable stones. In this scenario, rebel forces have been organizing since the 2000s to dominate the extraction of coltan in the country, which only makes the warlike situation in Congo last.
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