Congo extends state control over mining with bid to lock down geological data

The initiative comes as Congo sits at the centre of intensifying competition between the United States and China for critical-mineral supply. Both countries have struck separate agreements with Kinshasa aimed at increasing cooperation in the sector. Vitima said the database was not aimed at favouring either China or the U.S., adding that Congo's strategy is to diversify its mining investor base and apply the same access rules to all companies regardless of origin. Greater control of geological data could allow Kinshasa to shape where exploration capital flows and which future deposits of copper, cobalt, germanium and other critical minerals are developed, three mining executives and a geologist said. "Control of geological data is increasingly becoming a strategic policy tool," said Mark Jessell, a geology and geophysics expert at the University of Western Australia. "It affects not only what a country mines today, but what it may discover and develop tomorrow." Congo's cobalt reserves grew by over 76% between 2000 and 2025 to an estimated 6 million tons, more than half of known world reserves, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, as exploration expanded estimates of the country's vast Copperbelt deposits. Despite hosting some of the world's richest deposits of copper, cobalt, lithium, tantalum and gold, Congo remains one of the least-explored major mining jurisdictions. SGNC estimates systematic exploration covers barely 20% of the country. The Xcalibur project is surveying more than 700,000 square kilometres (270,272 sq. miles) using airborne geophysics, digitised data and advanced analytics to identify exploration targets and unlock vast unexplored areas of Congo, Vitima said. Xcalibur did not respond to a request for comment. Exploration spending surged after the end of Congo's 1998-2003 civil war, rising to a record $389.2 million in 2012 from $57 million in 2005, according to S&P data. Companies invested $130.7 million in exploration in 2024, the highest in Africa, but activity remains concentrated in the copper-cobalt belt of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga, leaving large parts of the country poorly mapped. Congo's databank will operate a tiered access system, with basic geological information available free of charge while access to more sensitive datasets will be fee-based, Vitima said, arguing that revenues from certain data products would help fund continued exploration and mapping in the country. He did not specify the fee structure and the categories of data to be levied. A nationwide geological mapping programme has gained momentum this year after a $180 million contract with Spain's Xcalibur, a global leader in geodata mapping, began in January, Raoul Wazenga Vitima, director general of the National Geological Survey of Congo (SGNC), told Reuters. The project is one of several ongoing mapping programmes in the country, funded by the government, mining revenues and international partners, with results fed into the national geological databank, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026, Vitima said. Unlike other major mining jurisdictions such as Australia, however, Congo plans to keep control of access to the databank in state hands and charge for some information. Requests for access to information will be assessed against both investor needs and the protection of Congo's "strategic interests", Vitima said. "The data generated under these programmes constitute a strategic asset of the Congolese state," Vitima said. Democratic Republic of Congo plans to tighten control over geological data that guides billions of dollars in mining exploration, potentially extending state influence over the development of future mineral discoveries. The country is accelerating geological mapping, airborne surveys and digitisation of historical archives to build a comprehensive national geological databank on its critical minerals and reduce exploration risk, officials say. The plan will tighten Kinshasa's grip on the world's biggest cobalt producer and second-largest copper supplier, according to an official and seven industry sources, and could be even more significant than the country's policies that reshaped the global cobalt market, some analysts say.

Congo extends state control over mining with bid to lock down geological data

Control of geodata could shape future supply

Exploration remains limited despite rich deposits

Geological databank to remain under state control

Congo plans tighter state control over geological data

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