CBC News Article 'Colt A New Blood Mineral'

The diamond industry impacts the people of West Africa by creating a whirlwind of corruption on a political level. In sierra Leone diamonds were a valuable part of the land and they were once legitimately sold up until Sierra Leone became independent in 1961. The following years of their independence corruption flooded the land. According to an online research paper it says “with that independence came corrupt leaders, manipulation of the people , rebel groups, rivalries and civil disputes”. The correlation implies that the diamond industry has created an environment that leaves people at risk of violence, and unfair treatment by their government. The longer the diamond industry is in effect, the longer West African people will suffer from the world market demanding diamonds. Because of globalization it doesn’t look

     In Southern Africa, there were mineral discoveries in the 1860, 70, and 80’s. These discoveries had an enormous impact on Southern Africa. These discoveries lead to a “rush” of many fortune hunters and the establishment of the town of Kimberly, which grew quickly and soon became the largest urban society in the interior of Southern Africa. Soon the diamond industry was controlled by one monopolistic company. This was one negative effect of imperialism in Africa.

All of us would find this topic in a way of inspirational because no matter what may be taking place, there can be an instant where the painful story that's taking place would be told and because of this story being told, changes will be made. For instance, Campbell speaks of Ismail Dalramy who lost his hands in 1996 by way of an ax. Amputation was one of many brutal tactics, as well as torture, mass rapes and looting done by the Revolutionary United Front or the (RUF). This is only just a little taste of what the African had to undergo because of the sick diamond trade. But, even so this helped bring light to what was wrong and helped more right to come out of. This book continued shedding light on the overworked but underpaid Africans in the mines. A tourist once mentioned, "The pit looked more like a slave colony". "On all sides, rib-skinny men stripped to their shorts were covered in mud and slime, the inevitable results of their jobs digging for diamonds". "Even though it was barely 10 a.m., they all looked exhausted”. This is needless to say extremely sad because there were Africans that were worked like crazy but barely getting paid, rest, or rewards. Instead there is nothing but turmoil agony and pain.

Blood Minerals is an article surrounding the bloodshed in the democratic republic of Congo over the 3TG metals used in the production of smartphones. The conflict surrounding the mining of the metals has resulted in deaths as well, many civilians having to flee the country. The vast wealth of natural metals such as tungsten, tin, tantalum and gold; has resulted in the abuse of basic human rights and the taxing of the individuals that mine them by militants. The companies that are under scrutiny are under the belief that having to declare the use of conflict minerals is a breach of their freedom of speech. Companies are often saying that they cannot determine whether they have received metals from conflict

After coltan has been mined and refined, it becomes a heat resistant powder that can carry high electrical charges. Coltan is collected and used in many different ways. Coltan is used in almost every piece of technology because it controls energy flow in circuit boards in Ipads, computers, laptops, cell phones, pagers, and many other electronics. Coltan is also very expensive. One kilogram of coltan, or about two pounds, can cost up to 400 dollars (What is Coltan?). Because of the enormous revenue coltan can bring, neighboring countries such as Uganda and Rwanda started to illegally smuggle coltan for profit. Coltan is apart of the “conflict minerals” along with tin, tantalum, and tungsten. Armed groups fight to control the mines, and the smuggling routes. The DRC’s government and the armed groups are in a constant battle of control over the mines, and they are willing to kill or rape anyone who gets in their way. Including innocent civilians (Conflict Minerals). The increase in conflict of control over coltan, and other mining minerals has turned Congo into an endless

These companies turned the people of the Congo into slaves. Forcing them to work hard hours all day and night collecting copper and rubber. If the required collection amount wasn’t met, companies would take some extreme

These minerals are most commonly known as conflict minerals because many believe the trade for these minerals is funding the third world war. Most of the technology we can’t live without is funding a country that is tearing itself apart with war. In the Congo, women and young girls are being sexually traded for weapons, everyone is working hours longer than any of us have ever known, and these people are not being paid well enough for their work. All of these issues and more are being explained by many people across the country.

Slavery was abolished in the year of 1865; however, the maltreatment of African-Americans has not. Similarly, the triangular slave trade mentioned in Hartman’s book is no longer existent, but inhumane conditions still exist amongst the African community. These conditions are recurring motifs that hip-hop artist try to bring to mainstream audiences. The blood diamond industry began in the 1990s with the rebel group, Revolutionary United Front (RUF), led by Foday Sankoh, who had claimed they would improve the destitute conditions of the Africans and take better care of them than the African government. However, they later went against these promises and “seized control of diamond-producing regions in the east and south of Sierra Leone” (Fofana,

Despite its immense potential, very little of this wealth has benefited the Congolese people. Instead, all of its riches have attracted adventurers, warlords, corrupt governments, and unscrupulous corporations, and divided the population into competing groups. This is the main source of the conflict that rids the majority of eastern DRC (“The world factbook,” 2017).

Mining is one of Canada’s primary industries and involves the extraction, refining, and/or processing of economically valuable rocks and minerals. Mineral products – including gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel – are critical to modern industrial society. Although mining has been key to Canadian settlement and development, in recent decades the industry has also been criticized for its environmental and social impacts. Canada remains one of the world’s leading mining countries and has become a centre of global mining finance and expertise.

The Congolese who mine these materials do not even know what they are extracting, and have no use for them in their daily lives. In spite of the fact that the Congo is blessed with a wealth of common assets, including diamonds, gold, cobalt, copper, tin and tantalum, this valuable focal point is not utilized to expand on the nations riches as a result of the little advancement that has happened since

Little things in life can impact the world in many ways whether it's good or bad. In this case right now the Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing a big conflict with these minerals. The type of minerals people are fighting for are mined from the floor tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold are the one that they're looking for. This is a big deal because the mineral trade has been linked to other crimes that rebel groups who commit mass atrocities, including rape and murder. It may not seem like a big deal but numbers don't lie , but you'll be surprised what they use these minerals for. They use these minerals to make phones,laptops(which I'm using right now so ironic right), light bulbs , a pair of earrings you name it. We are preventing

Due to these Blood Diamonds, Sierra Leone has faced many social and economic costs. One diamond is capable of causing a civil war. That’s all, a fight over diamond control took many lives. During this civil war, rebels came and committed disgusting crimes including murder,

Diamonds are the most common natural resource, but Sierra Leone also contains titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold and chromite (2014, p.661). The rapid population growth due to the natural resources stresses the environment and eco-system (Coleman, 2014). The physical geography has been the root cause of turmoil in Sierra

In Ghana, for example, Illegal mining is more prevalent and has been a major contributor to these primary crimes especially for the widespread destruction of arable land. The country is rich in gold and in turn shows the foundations of environmental crime as being the cause of ‘greed and ignorance’ (Grabosky 2003:237). In according to Ghana National Commission for UNESCO statistics (2013, cited in Dwumor and Arko, 2013) the mining industry offers employment opportunities, estimating that it employs over 500,000 Ghanaians making it unfortunately too widespread to tackle. On a global scale, the issue of illegal mining tends to relate directly to safety. In fact, it is observed by Pyatt et al. (2000) the environmental impact of illegal mining boils down to the lack of knowledge of the risks associated with mining.