Another Rubaya mine collapse spotlights risks in DRC’s coltan belt

A landslide at the Gasasa mining site near Rubaya, in Masisi territory of North Kivu, has renewed scrutiny of the humanitarian risks surrounding artisanal mining in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral corridor. Local residents fear the death toll could exceed 200 as search efforts continue for miners and small traders believed to have been on the site at the time of the collapse.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, March 3, about five kilometres from Rubaya-Centre, according to witness accounts cited by local reporting. Families in Rubaya said many people were still unaccounted for hours after the collapse, with informal search teams digging in unstable ground in hopes of finding survivors or recovering bodies.

Beyond the miners themselves, residents said potential victims include small-scale vendors who sell water, food, and tools at the site an everyday ecosystem that forms around artisanal pits where formal employment alternatives are scarce.

The disaster also lands in a region where information flows are often contested. Witnesses told reporters that communication about the tragedy was being restricted and that people who filmed the scene were questioned, underscoring the tense environment in and around mining zones where security dynamics and local authority structures can shape what becomes publicly known.

Residents described the affected area as marshy and weakened by repeated excavation. They questioned why access remained open despite visible danger signs and prior incidents. It is reported that the same Gasasa mining zone rich in coltan had suffered a previous deadly landslide earlier this year, after which miners returned to work within days, driven by the need to earn daily income.

For North Kivu, the tragedy highlights a broader regional dilemma: strategic minerals that power global supply chains are often extracted in conditions where safety enforcement is minimal and livelihoods depend on high-risk labour. In places like Rubaya, artisanal mining is not only an economic activity it can be a survival system, even when the physical terrain is unstable and oversight is weak.

As searches continue, community concerns are widening beyond the immediate death toll to include whether meaningful safety controls will follow, and whether repeated disasters at high-risk sites will finally trigger enforcement, closures, or safer alternatives for workers who have few other options.