Armed conflict, insecurity, and mining in eastern DRC: Reflections on the nexus between natural resources and armed conflict

The concepts of ‘mining’ and ‘conflict financing’ have been closely linked in conflict analyses in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the past 20 years. The conflict, as well as conflict financing, has however changed considerably in eastern DRC over the past twenty years. It is therefore necessary to reconsider the concept of ‘conflict minerals’, as new types of conflict linked to mining have occurred, and more different types of actors are involved than before.