Is Coltan a development opportunity or a curse?

The Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) is scandalously "in possession of a wealth of natural resources" (Weijs et al.). It has the potential of being one of the richest countries in the world and a driver of the African growth (World Bank) yet, the majority of its people live below the poverty line (World Bank). According to some literature, one of the reasons why this is, is the "resource curse" according to which, many countries are poorer and more miserable because of their natural resources. This reaserch explores the views of a sample of the population of Masisi territory, a zone where the most wanted mineral of our time (Coltan) and other many minerals are extracted, in the Nord-Kivu Province of the D.R.Congo. It explores their perceptions on the impacts of mineral mining in their region. A sustainable livelihood approach has been used to conduct the research. The main finding is that Masisi population do not consider minerals in their zone as bad in themselves but their leaders are, because they are corrupt and irresponsible. They have turned what was to be an opportunity for the zone's development into a curse.