Bonded workers crush rocks in Mongbwalu, eastern Congo. Whole families work in slave conditions for warlords, controlling huge amounts of land, where gold is extracted to finance their military campaigns. 2004

Artisinal gold miners in Wasta, northeastern Congo. Most of these miners are combatants who have controlled mineral-rich areas and are profiting from their exploitation. This pit was excavated over nine months by hand. 2004

Gold miners often dig fifty meters into the mineral-rich earth. 2004

Gold miners pack up in the evening to return to their camp. 2004

A child gold miner in Watsa, northeastern Congo. 2004

Miners in eastern Congo work up to twelve hours a day shovelling dirt to extract gold. 2004

The soldiers of General Mathieu Ngudjolo, just outside the town of Bunia. The militia leader claimed to control the combined forces of the Movement for the Revolution of Congo. The general has since been indicted by the International Criminal Court. The charges include murder, sexual slavery and using children under the age of fifteen as frontline fighters. 2006

Locals in the gold-mining town of Mongbwalu sell religious artefacts to miners. 2004

Diamond dealers buy stones in Mbuji-Mayi, Congo’s diamond centre. Many dealers become pastors in order to use religious influence to convince their congregation to join the diamond trade. Approximately three million people live in the diamond town, where most agriculture has ceased and been replaced by the diamond rush. 2005

Diamond dealers measure their purchases in Mbuji-Mayi, Congo’s diamond centre. 2005

Currency traders in Mbuji-Mayi, Congo’s diamond centre. 2005

Currency traders in Mbuji-Mayi, Congo’s diamond centre. 2005

Access to gold mining is one of the driving forces behind the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. 2004

Gold miners in Mongbwalu, northeastern Congo. During the rainy season, the mines become huge pools of mud and deadly cholera outbreaks are common. 2004

A miner in Mongbwalu during the conflict. 2004