Simplified maps illustrating the link between natural resources and armed conflict in the DR Congo (in French) (January 2011)

At the request of different users of the IPIS web maps, and with the support of the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD), IPIS has produced a series of six simplified and printable PDF maps illustrating the link between mineral resources and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (in French). These simplified maps are based on the interactive web maps IPIS has published on this website since 2008.

The first map shows the positions of armed groups, including the Congolese army (FARDC). The second map indicates the areas where a number of selected minerals are mined: gold, tin (cassiterite), tantalum (coltan), and diamonds. The third map shows the superposition of both the previous, so as to give a graphic representation of the link between mineral resources and armed conflict: in the east of the country, the shown minerals – together with tungsten (wolframite) – are termed ‘conflict minerals’, exactly because their exploitation and trade often finance armed groups.
The three other maps contain the same information but zoom in on the east of the DRC.

Together, the maps can be used for educational purposes and easy reference. They allow to clearly demonstrate the link between natural resources and armed conflict to non-experts. The ‘conflict minerals’ shown on the maps, financing armed groups in eastern DRC, end up in electronic devices of daily use, such as cell phones, game consoles, mp3 players, laptop computers, etc.

You can visualise the maps by clicking on the following hyperlinks, or directly download them by right-clicking (“Save …as”).

RDC – Groupes armés (3,6 MB)
RDC – Minerais (1,45 MB)
RDC – Groupes armés et minerais (3,7 MB)

Est de la RDC – Groupes armés (3,3 MB)
Est de la RDC – Minerais (0,9 MB)
Est de la RDC – Groupes armés et minerais (3,4 MB)