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Demand for PlayStation 2 helped fuel African PlayStation War

Posted Jul 11, 2008 at 8:05AM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: PS3, PSP Tags: Africa, Sony

Report: Rare Metal Fueled African 'PlayStation War' - Image 1

It feels like the plot for the sequel of Syriana, but let's not fool ourselves. This is real. According to a report from Toward Freedom, high demand of the PlayStation 2 back in 2000 helped fuel a war in Africa that resulted in several million dead.

The war was over a rare metal called coltan, which is needed to make the element Tantalum. Tantalum is used to make many kinds of technology, from cell phones to laptops. It is mostly desired for its capacity to withstand extreme heat, and so is used in producing capacitors.

In today's hunger for technology, demand for coltan became not unlike oil. The demand is just as high, the stakes just as vicious. From the beginning of 1999 to the beginning of 2001, the world price for tantalum shot from US$ 49 a pound to US$ 275 a pound. To acquire the coltan needed to make tantalum, the Rwandan army seized coltan mines, resulting in countless dead. Prisoners-of-war and children were also made to mine for the metal.

Sony's PlayStation 2, it is reported, was largely responsible for the huge increase in demand for coltan. It must be said though, that companies are usually unaware of where they get their material, as researcher David Barouski explains:

Sony and other companies like it, have the benefit of plausible deniability because the coltan ore trades hands so many times from when it is mined to when Sony gets a processed product, that a company often has no idea where the original coltan ore came from, and frankly donÂ’t care to know. But statistical analysis shows it to be nearly inconceivable that Sony made all its PlayStations without using Congolese coltan.

While Sony still uses tantalum for some of its parts, they have taken steps to prevent using coltan that was illegally mined in the Congo:

[The PlayStation 2, PSP, and PlayStation 3] are manufactured mostly from independent parts and components that manufacturers procured externally. The material suppliers source their original material from multiple mines in various countries.

It is therefore hard for us to know what the supply chain mix is. I am happy to state to you that to the best of our knowledge, (SONY) is not using the material about which you have expressed concern.

Via Toward Freedom

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you obviously don't read into world matters much. Wars are started for many reasons.... we can go into the Hutu and Tutsi tribes that have been slaughtering each other for years. We will even step outside the fact that your vocabulary is limited, hence the use of a primitive vernacular

War can start in many ways, from the unfair treatment of a people, unreasonably taxing people. to motivate a nation into becoming a super power.

but in most cases, wars were started because of gain in one sort or another. Many times it had been materials in ancient times.

you can point the finger at "***** heads scum" but it's usually ignorant people who cannot see beyond that spectrum that make things worse.

and blaming just one type of people on what every man is capable of.... is the most ignorant thing I have ever heard in my life.

# Isnt Just Sony — SolidXnake 2008-07-11 09:54

In the paragraph above it mentioned Sony as one of the contributors to the war for the prime material. Not as the sole company that obtains it. Now, it's not to say that Sony broke up a war in Congo. Let's see what it will take us once more evidence come out since we don't seem to have any details about the supply "supply chain mix" - Until now we all know that Sony gets its material but check other companies that use the same prime material to build their circuits. :)

# @HakatoX — spicyhamster 2008-07-11 10:40

You're a *****in idiot. The End.

# and once again — HakatoX 2008-07-11 11:17

the primates speak with the grunts and banging of sticks.

when you have a viable defense or argument, come at me. until then.... remember this....

those who use profanity to get a point across are people who are limited to a narrow thought process.

how can you conclude I am a "*****ing idiot"?

when that's all you had to reply on a well thought out statement.

your mother must be proud.

# !!!! — trigger 2008-07-11 13:15

is that tantalum in the picture? it looks like turd! ......GASP! does that mean my ps2 is made up of turd too?!?!?! aaaaah! nooooo! i love my ps2!!!! i'll never ever ever ever part with it EVER!!!!

hmmm. now this makes me wonder. are some of the nextgen consoles made of turd too? ^_^ LOL

# element??? — solidus4prez 2008-07-11 14:41

I like that, "to make the element tantalum."

# yes, element. — Goobers 2008-07-11 16:01

#73, in fact

it's probably better to say

"to extract the element tantalum"

Coltan is an ore that contains element tantalum, among others.

# @spicyhamster — slicer4ever 2008-07-11 16:11

i'd think u the "*****ing idiot"

# I agree with HakatoX — Annony 2008-07-11 16:32

Hundreds of things cause wars: race, religion and whatnot. However, the number one cause of war is usually wealth (land, natural resources, precious metals).

People who think that "***** heads scum" are the only reason for war, and people who think "You're a *****in idiot" is a well-thought rebuttal should take themselves out of the human gene pool. Seriously, you shouldn't reproduce...

# Yup there is — Uplink 2008-07-11 20:53

The xbox 360 is deff made with Turd

# ffs — emcp 2008-07-12 03:56

ok by you saying that "***** heads scum", dont always cause war, your saying that people who cause war can be good citizens

im sorry you are either a "***** heads scum" who causes war

or scum who causes war and then becomes a "***** heads scum", because you caused it

your agreeing that war is good,

sure wealth racism etc fuels wars, but it doesnt cause them, people cause them, things such as wealth fuels them

therefore yes people are "***** heads scum"

# lol — emcp 2008-07-12 03:59

lol didnt spot that

even though goobers put it right

you still stand corrected

# wow — HakatoX 2008-07-12 09:09

I never said war was good...... but on a philosophical level, we can learn from previous engagements and benefit from them.

you flat out said England caused wars, and to me that is an ignorant statement within it self.

thats why I brought up Hutu and Tutsi..... lets take a look at major wars around the world that happened...... WWI: The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinan . WWII the german movement to be a super power along with italy and russia. Vietnam: the invasion of South Korea by north korea...... you see where I am getting at?

By your logic of ***** heads scum.....everyone is one..... you me

if you want to gain a full spectrum of war... go back to school and this time listen to your history teacher

and BTW the american founding fathers ignited the american revolution... and they turned out to be great citizens that brought much to the world..... especially the likes of Benjamin Franklin.

dont try to combat reason with ignorant statements.... it only makes the situation worse.

# What about Microsoft and Nintendo! — Rasb23 2008-07-14 01:56

I'm sure they have capacitors, so where did they get there tantalum from? Wouldn't they be to blame too?

# Bull ***** — Nightfire169 2008-07-17 22:12

the 360 is one of the 3 best consoles ever

PSP, xbox 360, and ps3

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Demand for PlayStation 2 helped fuel African PlayStation War

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