Which is More Important – Mining Tantalite in the Congo for Cellphones or Saving the Gorillas That Die Because of This Activity?

October 3, 2019 – Tom Peterson, a blog contributor from the United Kingdom has two addictions, writing and hot chocolate. We thank him for sharing with us this infographic which describes a challenge of this modern world.

Cellphones today are ubiquitous and the materials used in them are often mined from countries where there is little to no provision for protecting habitats and the endangered species that live within them.

This is clearly demonstrated in the mining of tantalite, the source of the material tantalum used in cellphones. Tantalum is described as a conflict mineral because it is being mined in a war zone: the eastern Congo. That conflict zone coexists with the main gorilla habitat in Africa. 

Tantalum is a vital component in the manufacture of capacitors, and surface acoustic wave filters. The former is found in electronic devices, while the latter is a critical component of cellphones. About 40 milligrams of tantalum is in every smartphone on the planet. And although 40 milligrams doesn’t seem to be a lot, when you add up the billions of phones being sold and in use, and the billions that have already become obsolete and been discarded, that’s a lot of this critical mineral.

Is there another way to get tantalum? Absolutely, and it involves recovering it from discarded electronic devices.

Because of the growing concern for gorilla habitat loss, another way to ensure less tantalum comes out of the Congo is to resell old phones that still can be serviceable for many years. The idea that you need to change your smartphone every couple of years is contributing to the demise of gorillas. Is it that important that we always have the latest and greatest technological doodad? The infographic that follows may change your buying behaviour. I know it has mine.

If you are looking for a place to sell your old LG smartphone, Julian Smith, an avid reader of 21stcentech.com has sent the following link.