By Giselle Alzate | 2025-04-08

BOGOTA -- ​​The recent seizure of 49 tons of coltan in Villavicencio, Colombia, is spotlighting a multi-million-dollar illegal trade that has thrived for decades in the Amazon and Orinoco regions and has links to Chinese companies.

Colombian authorities on April 2 announced that they had intercepted the shipment in Villavicencio, revealing that it originated from illegal mining operations in Guainia and Vichada -- two remote, biodiverse jungle departments bordering Venezuela.

The seizure led to "six arrests and dealt a decisive blow to criminal networks profiting from environmental destruction," the Ministry of Defense said.

Coltan, a mixture of two minerals, columbite and tantalite, is a critical component in modern technology.

It is indispensable for manufacturing everyday electronic devices, including smartphones, microprocessors, medical equipment and even military hardware.

Illegal coltan extraction devastates forests, pollutes rivers and threatens indigenous communities that depend on these ecosystems. The practice has put several rainforest regions in Colombia and Venezuela at risk.

China: final destination

The operation exposed links between FARC dissidents and Chinese companies that acquired the mineral without verifying its origin.

"The shipment was destined for the international market, with China as its final destination through the port of Cartagena," Brig. Gen. Jose Roa, director of Carabineros and Environmental Protection, confirmed in an April 2 statement.

Authorities also confirmed that the seized shipment belonged to dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an armed group operating along the border with Venezuela.

According to police reports, organized crime networks purchase coltan at a minimal cost in the Colombian jungle -- around $7 per kilogram. It is then transported via rivers to Villavicencio and by land to Bogota, where its value rises to approximately $25 per kilogram before being stored in warehouses.

From there, the mineral is moved by truck to the Caribbean port of Cartagena, where it is shipped to China. By the time it reaches its final destination, its price can surge by up to 200% per kilogram.

The shipment seized in early April in Villavicencio had an estimated international market value of $1.2 million.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro took to X to commend the police, the Attorney General's Office and the Army for the successful seizure of the illegal coltan shipment.

"This is the illegal mining operation run by alias Ivan Mordisco, and we are dismantling it," Petro declared, referring to the leader of a FARC dissident faction that recently broke off peace talks with his administration.

Opaque supply chains

Efforts to track illegal coltan trafficking in Colombia are being supported by the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is working to identify other countries involved in purchasing these illicit shipments, according to the Ministry of Defense.

Earlier on March 14, Colombian authorities seized another 19 tons of coltan in the department of Vichada, destined for export to China.

An August 2021 report by InSight Crime highlighted that illegally extracted coltan from Colombia, Venezuela and African countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is frequently smuggled through intricate networks before reaching China.

Often accompanied by falsified documentation, this illegally mined coltan enters international markets through shadowy supply chains.

Identifying specific Chinese buyers remains challenging due to the opaque nature of the trade. However, reports indicate that small, less-regulated processing facilities purchase raw coltan and resell it through online platforms in China.

This makes it accessible for major mineral processing companies, like China National Nonferrous Metals Import & Export Corporation (CNMC) and Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry.

Because these supply chains are deliberately structured to obscure the origin of materials, distinguishing legal from illegal coltan remains nearly impossible.