There ’s a famous song that says that when that hotline bling bling , it can only intend one thing – and scientist from the University of Plymouth have now reveal what that matter is : the proliferation of regional conflicts and the debilitation of Earth ’s resources . Actually that ’s two things , so the song was wrong .

Many of us depend onsmartphonesfor everything from ordinate a taxi to finding a lover , and with around 1.5 billion speech sound being produced every class , it ’s about clip someone stopped to ask what ’s in them . To respond this question , research worker put an iPhone in a blender and guide a chemical substance analysis on the Apple smoothie that came out – with some somewhat alarming results .

While branding iron and silicon were by far the most abundant element in the phone , the team also found 900 milligram of tungsten and 70 milligrams of cobalt , both of which are often mined in conflict zones .

Tungsten is particularly troublesome , and is one of the most notoriousconflict minerals . It is extract from an ore called wolframite , which is heavily mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) and sold to engineering firms in order of magnitude to fund armed groups andsustain local difference of opinion .

While the Dodd - Frank act requires all American companies to examine that any tungsten they buy is fight - free , in practice this is nearly impossible . Most wolframite is extracted from unregulated and unmonitored excavation web site in the DRC , make it through various intermediaries before falling into the hand of technology firm , which means that by this stage in the supply chemical chain the extraction of the raw stuff has become untraceable .

The blended earpiece also contained 36 milligrams of gold , meaning that it had more than 10   times the tightness of gold take to be view as " high course " . Like tungsten , atomic number 79 is one of the man ’s four major difference metallic element , along with can and tantalum . jointly , these four resources are known as the 3GT minerals .

bring forth just one telephone require 7 kilograms ( 15.4 pounds ) of high - grad gold ore to be evoke from the ground , as well as 750 gramme ( 1.65 pounds ) of tungsten ore , which gives an idea of just how much the telecom industry needs to buy to fit demand .

The phone also let in severalrare earth elementssuch as atomic number 60 , praseodymium , gadolinium , and dysprosium . These materials are highly sought after by technology manufacturer due to their magnetism and conduction , and are used to improve the performance of all sorts of gadgets .

Yet as the name suggests , these elements are scarce and resources are in danger of being exhausted . Many are mine in Mongolia , yet concern have been bring up that the country ’s rarified earth factor supplying couldrun outin the next 50 years .

Project coordinator Colin Wilkins said in astatementthat “ we are now in a climate where people are becoming more socially creditworthy and interested in the contents of what they are buy . ” sputter a shaft of positiveness onto these finding , he added that “ the throwaway guild we have hold up in for decades is changing , and we desire this project will encourage more people to ask questions about their own behavior . "

Of course , sometimes when that hotline bling it ’s just a booty call .