You can start by googling Laurent Nkunda. To get a feel for what the Rwandan backed militias who loot these mines are like. Fair warning... that reading is really not for the timid though.
You can read background on the actual technical and logistical aspects of the mineral trade from Nest. The book is titled "Coltan".
If you want the actual dry but raw data of the UN reports there are several which touch on the DRC mineral situation, and they are all at the UN's site. (They only go back to 2004... to go further you'd actually have to get it out of google cache. But obviously the UN has compiled reports going back much further for the purposes of future Crimes Against Humanity prosecutions.) In any case, you can find them here:
You can read background on the actual technical and logistical aspects of the mineral trade from Nest. The book is titled "Coltan".
http://www.amazon.com/Coltan-Michael-Nest/dp/0745649327
If you want the actual dry but raw data of the UN reports there are several which touch on the DRC mineral situation, and they are all at the UN's site. (They only go back to 2004... to go further you'd actually have to get it out of google cache. But obviously the UN has compiled reports going back much further for the purposes of future Crimes Against Humanity prosecutions.) In any case, you can find them here:
http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1533/egroup.shtml
Also, several lawsuits against American suppliers of conflict minerals related to the DRC morass. For example, here:
http://oecdwatch.org/files/raid-foe_vs-_us-companies_press-r...
And finally, if you want to get involved you can read information at Friends of the Congo here:
http://friendsofthecongo.org/resource-center/coltan.html