Perhaps the most famous use of natural resources to fund conflicts in recent years was the use of "conflict diamonds" in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to name only a few places. This article discusses the use of tin by current rebels in the DRC. See http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1f3dfd4e-ea3e-11dc-b3c9-0000779fd2ac,noOfParas=2,emailFormat=plainText,storyType=ultralight,dwp_uuid=a99ba554-4d15-11da-ba44-0000779e2340,print=no,_i_email=y.html