• UK-listed Aterian starts large-scale coltan exports from Rwanda
• Firm insists on OECD-compliant sourcing amid Congo conflict concerns
• Rwanda’s coltan trade faces scrutiny over alleged links to rebel supply

London-listed Aterian announced on yesterday the launch of large-scale commercial operations in Rwanda with its first shipment of tantalum-niobium concentrate (coltan). Marketed as part of a “responsible” supply chain, the cargo comes as Rwanda’s coltan exports are often accused of being linked to conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

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The company sources from artisanal and small-scale mines said to comply with OECD standards. It then sells the coltan internationally through a partnership with a metal trading firm whose identity has not been disclosed.

“With our operations, risk management systems and partnerships now in place, we are confident in our ability to demonstrate complete traceability compliance whilst building a robust and high-integrity supply chain that can support substantial volume growth and underpin long-term revenue generation for the group,” said Aterian CEO Simon Rollason.

The company’s repeated emphasis on traceability, which it says follows the International Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI), is telling. In April 2025, Global Witness accused Luxembourg-based Traxys of purchasing at least 280 tons of Rwandan coltan in 2024, part of which allegedly came from the Rubaya mine in eastern DRC, under the control of M23 rebels since February 2024.

For electronics companies like Apple, reliable sourcing is also a reputational issue. The company was accused last year by the Congolese government of using minerals from allegedly illegal sources in its products. The key question now is whether this new Rwandan supply chain will avoid similar criticism, especially as ITSCI itself has faced accusations of covering up smuggled Congolese coltan.