The Rubaya mine, located about 60 kilometers northwest of Goma in North Kivu province, gave way Wednesday during the rainy season. Rescuers were still searching for survivors Friday evening as the death toll remained uncertain.
“More than 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children and market women,” Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor, told Reuters. “Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries.”
About 20 injured people were receiving treatment at health facilities, Muyisa said.
“We are in the rainy season. The ground is fragile. It was the ground that gave way while the victims were in the hole,” he said.
Eraston Bahati Musanga, the North Kivu governor appointed by the M23 rebel group, confirmed Friday that “some bodies have been recovered” but did not provide specific casualty figures. An adviser to the governor, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, put the death toll at more than 200.
Agence France-Presse said it was unable to independently confirm the death toll Friday evening.
Franck Bolingo, an artisanal miner at Rubaya, told AFP that people remain trapped inside.
“It rained, then the landslide happened and swept people away. Some were buried alive, and others are still trapped in the shafts,” Bolingo said.
Rubaya produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is refined into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal used in mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. Local miners dig manually for a few dollars per day at the site, which has been controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group since 2024.
The heavily armed M23 rebels, whose stated aim is to overthrow the DRC government in Kinshasa, captured additional mineral-rich territory in the east during an offensive last year.
The United Nations has accused M23 of plundering Rubaya’s resources to fund their rebellion, an allegation that Rwanda denies.
Despite Congo’s vast mineral wealth, more than 70% of Congolese live on less than $2.15 a day, according to World Bank data.
Mining accidents are common in Congo’s artisanal mines, where workers often labor in dangerous conditions with minimal safety equipment. The informal mining sector employs thousands across the mineral-rich eastern provinces.
