this is a very good documentary that shows the reality on the ground. politics, beyond mncs, is not addressed but this documentary does justice to the subject. well worth viewing

Source: BBC News Africa

Blood in the Earth: Life and Death in Congo’s Coltan Mines – BBC Africa Eye Documentary

27 Oct 2025

In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a miner digs for his dreams hoping the “grey gold” of coltan, used in much of today’s electronics, can bring his family back together.

In a village nestled in the mountains of the Democratic Republic of Congo, everyone is looking for an answer to their problems. A teacher hopes to find it in educating his pupils for a better life, a policeman hopes to find it in establishing order, and a miner hopes to find it in coltan, an essential element used in manufacturing electronics. The mineral is both a blessing and a curse to the locals. It may have brought wealth to some, but it has also brought a decades long war between numerous local groups backed by international players. For many miners their dreams remain frustratingly underground, seemingly just out of reach. But for one miner can this “grey gold” now bring his family back together?