More than 200 people died this week in a mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a government official said. According to Reuters, an official from the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that over 200 people died this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in the east of the country. Rubaya produces about 15% of the world's coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal increasingly in demand by manufacturers of mobile phones, computers, space components, and gas turbines. The mine, where local workers manually mine coltan for a few dollars a day, has been under the control of the March 23 rebel movement since 2024. The collapse occurred on Wednesday, and the official stated: "Over 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children, and women at the market. Some people were rescued in time and suffered serious injuries."