This film contrasts two natural resources, two locations, and two layers in time. The common denominator is mining—and the traces it leaves behind in landscapes and communities. On the one hand, we have the depleted coal mines of Germany’s Ruhr region, where the long-term consequences of mining activity are emerging. On the other, we have the still-active mines in Democratic Republic of the Congo, where coltan—essential for the manufacture of smartphones and other devices—is being extracted from the earth.

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