Download or read book Coltan Boom, Gorilla Bust written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coltan, a metallic mineral used in commodities from mobile phones to jet engines, has become headline news, and for all the wrong reasons. Recent rises in the price of this ore have led to unregulated mining of it in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the same forests that were home to 86% of the world's eastern lowland gorillas. The forests are being destroyed and gorillas are being killed and snared for 'bushmeat' to feed the hundreds of miners and to sell at markets. Recent reports indicate that up to 90% of eastern lowland gorillas may have been killed in the last 3 years. Fears are that without immediate political action, they may be headed towards an inescapable extinction.