[dmix]

The fact they'd even need to have to try to get the Congolese army to enforce what happens on their own mine property says a lot about the problem.

It's largely just a security problem. But I'm sure the activists don't want violent military guys pushing off the pirate mines.

The other question is the pipelines that purchase from the 'artisanal' mines. Those people could be targeted and better regulated.

But as we've seen in the diamond and gold industries that's been a very hard thing to do in African countries without stable governments or strong incentives to stop them.

If the goal is to actually stop it and not some vindictive pursuit of western companies who people want to take all of the blame, then upping security and oversight of the mines with financial goals and on-sight oversight teams to measure progress. Plus some financial incentives to the various players to reports the dangerous supply lines which are using kids, so it's not putting a poor person between having something and total poverty out for some moral purpose which they will disregard.

[Robotbeat]

I think stable government and general development (education, economic) is really the ultimate solution to this and everything else will either be largely ineffective or have significant downsides.

There needs to be some international/African Union pressure to stop some of the proxy warfare going on in central Africa and some way to ensure stability in Congo.