The Dark Sparkle in Your Smartphone: Unpacking the Story of Coltan
Image from https://rb.gy/9ly6qn Introduction: Ever wonder what makes your sleek smartphone, your trusty laptop, or that immersive gaming console tick? Well, pull up a chair, because it turns out a seemingly ordinary black rock, called coltan, plays a surprisingly pivotal role. My digging into the history of this mineral took me way back to the 19th century and the heart of the Kingdom of Kongo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Minerals that constitute coltan were discovered were first discovered in the 19th century, though, at the time, its significance was not fully realized. Coltan is an ore containing niobium and tantalum. Niobium was discovered in 1801 by Charles Hatchett, and tantalum was discovered in 1802 by Anders Ekeberg Interestingly, while Europ...