Colombia Plans Raid to Seize FARC Rebels' Tungsten Mine

Bloomerg
Dec. 29, 2013

The Colombian government says it will seize and close a mine run by FARC guerrillas that has supplied tungsten to some of world’s leading multinational companies.

Colombian security forces are in the advanced stages of preparing an assault on Tiger Hill, the mine in a remote part of the Amazon jungle run by FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, said National Police Col. Jose Gerardo Acevedo.

“We are planning and organizing an operation to shut it down,” said Acevedo, who commands Colombia’s rural police, which are responsible for fighting illegal mining. “We are closing in on that region to be able to get to the mine.”

The government action was triggered by a Bloomberg Markets magazine report in September, Acevedo said. The article showed how tungsten mined for the profit of FARC makes its way into the supply lines of the makers of BMWs, Ferraris, Porsches and Volkswagens, computers and BIC pens.

Apple Inc. and Samsung Inc. have also bought material from that tainted supply line. The parts are used for iPhones, iPads, iPods and Galaxy mobile devices.

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