Synopsis
Juliana Ruhfus finds that the lucrative mining of the ore coltan from which tantalum is extracted, and used in the production of mobile phones, is at the root of the war in Congo.
- Programme: Unreported World
- Episode: Congo: The Real Mobile Phone War
- Channel: Channel 4
- Broadcast year: 2001
- Journalism
Licence: ERA Licence required
Free to watch for UK schools, colleges and universities with an ERA Licence
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from Unreported World
Inside Assad's Syria | Unreported World
Inside Assad's Syria | Unreported World
Ramita Navai spends two weeks undercover in some of the most dangerous parts of Syria with members of the opposition movement determi...
Myanmar Report | Unreported World
Myanmar Report | Unreported World
A Burmese filmmaker's on the front line in Myanmar as protestors defy the military junta's coup. As pressure to release political prisoners...
Toxic Cost of Going Green | Unreported World
Toxic Cost of Going Green | Unreported World
Jamal Osman travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo, to investigate the dirty business of cobalt mining and the toxic cost f...
Uprooted by the Climate Crisis | Unreported World
Uprooted by the Climate Crisis | Unreported World
Guillermo Galdos tracks the high-risk journey to the United States of a Central American farmer forced to use people smuggl...
Your Phone's Dirty Gold | Unreported World
Your Phone's Dirty Gold | Unreported World
Guillermo Galdos investigates how illegal Amazonian gold could be in your smart phone, as he follows Brazilian police cracking dow...
More resources about The factors limiting global development
For Sama | Dispatches
For Sama | Dispatches
An epic and intimate journey filmed through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria. Waad al-Kateab tells the story of how she fell in love, marrie...
Inside Assad's Syria | Unreported World
Inside Assad's Syria | Unreported World
Ramita Navai spends two weeks undercover in some of the most dangerous parts of Syria with members of the opposition movement determi...
26/09/25 - India economy | Talking Business
26/09/25 - India economy | Talking Business
Ben Thompson looks at India's economic options as it copes with 50 per cent tariffs on its imports to the United States and forg...
The Corrupt Billionaire | Panorama
The Corrupt Billionaire | Panorama
Leaked documents reveal how an impoverished country was corruptly exploited by its former ruling family. With Richard Bilton.
04: The Colonial Idea | The Age of Uncertainty
04: The Colonial Idea | The Age of Uncertainty
Professor Galbraith traces the colonial adventure, from the Crusades to the present, from the fall of Acre to the fall of Saig...
09/05/25 - Trump and tarrifs | Talking Business
09/05/25 - Trump and tarrifs | Talking Business
What does President Trump's trade war mean for Europe? At nearly $1tn it's one of the biggest trade relationships in the worl...
31/10/25 - Argentina e-Build economy | Talking Business
31/10/25 - Argentina e-Build economy | Talking Business
Can Argentina's economic reforms make a lasting difference, and do they hold any lessons for the rest of the world?
Colombia with Simon Reeve
Colombia with Simon Reeve
Simon Reeve explores Colombia at a pivotal point in its history. For 50 years, Colombia has been in the grip of a brutal civil war, but in late 201...
Market failure: Lithium | Simon Reeve's South America
Market failure: Lithium | Simon Reeve's South America
A look at the impact on traditional industries by the drive of selling lithium.
Myanmar Report | Unreported World
Myanmar Report | Unreported World
A Burmese filmmaker's on the front line in Myanmar as protestors defy the military junta's coup. As pressure to release political prisoners...
Sri Lanka's Killing Fields
Sri Lanka's Killing Fields
A hard-hitting investigation into the final weeks of the Sri Lankan civil war, featuring devastating video evidence of horrific war crimes. Contai...