Coltan,Gorillas and Mobile Phones
Rove near a silverback gorilla in the
Virungra Mountains,Rwanda,Africa
Giles Clark, International Conservation Manager,Australia Zoo
1: What is coltan.
Coltan short for columbite-tantalite:
a valuable black mineral combining niobite and tantalite; used in
mobile phones
2: What do they use coltan for?
Coltan is used in mobile phones,
laptops, pagers, game consoles, and other electrical devices
3: Where does coltan come from?
Coltan is mined in Congo and other parts of Africa
4: How do they get the coltan?
Coltan is hand mined by poor men and children
5: What happens to the land?
The miners clear out all the trees which is spelling doom for the wonderful gorillas and all the beautiful wildlife
6: What effect does coltan mining have on the gorillas?
Coltan mining is destroying the gorillas habitat which means that the gorillas have no where to live and no food and the men that run the coltan mining
also kill the gorillas to eat
7: Why do we need to help.?
We need to help these animals because every animal deserves to live its up to use
to help if we don't our future is unclear but most important the animals future if
one animal becomes extinct eventually they all will!
What can you do to help?
You can help by donating any unwanted mobile phones you have you can
1. Drop off your old mobile phones at Australia Zoo
2. Download a label to post it off yourself free of charge at
Australia Zoo Answer The Call
3. If you are in Melbourne you can call me on 0412088176 and arrange pick up or drop off
Please Watch this Video
Did you know.
- Gorillas are the largest living primate in the world.
- Gorillas are our closest relatives, sharing 98%-99% identical DNA, second only to the chimpanzee.
- The Four subspecies of gorilla (Mountain, Cross River, Eastern Lowland and Western Lowland) are all under serious threat of becoming extinct. They are all currently classified as endangered or critically endangered.
- With just 250-300 left in the wild, The Cross River Gorilla is the most critically endangered of the four gorilla subspecies.
- There are no Mountain Gorillas or Cross River Gorillas in captivity.
- Adult male gorillas are called Silverbacks because, as they age, a saddle of gray or silver-colored hair develops on their backs.
- The average lifespan of a gorilla is between 30-50 years.
- Poaching, habitat destruction, the bush meat trade, civil war and unrest are some of the major facts that are threatening gorillas.
- Gorillas live in tight knit family groups; if threatened, adults will protect the young of the group with their life.
- FFI is one of the only conservation organisations that is working to save all four subspecies of gorillas in the wild.
- Last year alone it was estimated that nearly 9 million mobile phones were sold in Australia, and collectively there could be over 20 million unused mobile phones waiting to be recycled.
