In the Democratic Republic of Congo, illegal mining of coltan ore is used to fund rebel movements and to buy arms to fuel the continuing civil war in the region. These mines are mainly located in the areas inhabited by the endangered lowland gorilla and generally result in the destruction of their habitat. The United Nations also estimates that the conflict in the region is the deadliest since World War II, and has resulted in 5.4 million deaths.

Coltan is a source of tantalum that is used in the manufacture of high quality electronic components such as capacitors.  These are used in many consumer items, most especially mobile phones. While there are legal sources for coltan from North Western Australia, Brazil and Canada, the illegally sourced ore is often cheaper and generally cannot be traced back to its source.

One way to lessen the demand for coltan is to recycle or reuse your old mobile phones. This could be as simple as passing an old phone along to a friend or family member or using one of the recycling services that have appeared online. These services will recycle broken mobile phones free of charge and may even pay cash for mobile phones that can be reconditioned and reused. Not only does recycling your old mobile protect the environment at home by preventing the phone from ending up in a landfill site, it also helps protect the habitats of many endangered species such as the lowland gorilla.