The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has tightened state control over the geological information that underpins billions of dollars in mining exploration, a strategy that could give Kinshasa greater influence over where future mineral discoveries are made, which companies gain access to them, and how the country negotiates with investors.
The action coincides with the nation’s accelerated efforts to digitise historical geological records, map its enormous and still mostly unexplored mineral territory, and create a national databank with data on deposits of cobalt, copper, lithium, tantalum, gold, and other minerals deemed increasingly crucial to the global energy transition.
At the centre of the initiative is a nationwide geological mapping programme being undertaken by the National Geological Survey of Congo (SGNC), alongside several other mapping partnerships involving the government, mining revenues and international partners.
A $180 million contract with Spain’s Xcalibur, a global leader in geodata mapping, began in January and is expected to significantly expand the government’s understanding of Congo’s mineral potential.
According to SGNC Director General Raoul Wazenga Vitima, the resulting information would feed into a national geological databank expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026.
The project is surveying more than 700,000 square kilometres through airborne geophysics, digitised geological information and advanced analytical techniques designed to identify new exploration targets and unlock areas of the country that have received limited systematic investigation.
Unlike major mining jurisdictions such as Australia, where extensive geological information is generally made publicly accessible, Congo intends to retain state control over access to its new databank. Basic geological information is expected to be available free of charge, while more sensitive datasets will be subject to fees.
Access requests will also be assessed according to investor needs and the protection of Congo’s strategic interests.
Vitima added that “the data generated under these programmes constitute a strategic asset of the Congolese state.”
SGNC estimates that systematic exploration has covered barely 20% of the country.
The government therefore sees the databank not simply as a repository of information but as an instrument that could support future exploration, attract investment and improve its negotiating position with mining companies.
Congo is the world’s largest cobalt producer and the second-largest copper supplier, while its mineral potential extends far beyond those two commodities.
As global demand for critical minerals increases, control over information about where those resources are located could become almost as consequential as control over the minerals themselves.
State Seeks Greater Influence Over Future Mineral Discoveries
DR Congo’s vast mineral potential and knowledge gaps are seen in the size of the country’s geological mapping endeavour.
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.
Exploration spending rose sharply following the end of the country’s 1998-2003 civil war, increasing from $57 million in 2005 to a record $389.2 million in 2012, according to S&P data.
In 2024, mining companies spent $130.7 million on exploration in Congo, the highest figure recorded in Africa. However, much of that activity has remained concentrated in the established copper-cobalt belt spanning Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces.
That concentration has left substantial parts of the country with limited geological information, creating what officials and industry experts see as both a challenge and an opportunity.
By using airborne geophysical surveys and modern data analysis across more than 700,000 square kilometres, the government expects to identify previously unknown or poorly understood exploration targets.
The national databank will then bring together information generated through that work with historical geological records that are currently dispersed across different archives.
DR Congo is also working with a range of international institutions and companies to expand its geological knowledge.
According to Vitima, the country has similar partnerships with France’s state geological survey BRGM, South Africa’s Council for Geoscience, US-based KoBold Metals and Atlas Park. It also has partnerships with Japan’s Solafune and Belgium’s AfricaMuseum.
The government’s decision to retain control over the resulting information, however, introduces a new dimension to the country’s mining strategy.
Under the planned tiered access system, basic geological information will be free, while access to more sensitive datasets will require payment.
Vitima noted that revenues from selected geological data products would help finance continued exploration and mapping, although he did not specify the proposed fees or which categories of information would be charged.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Congo’s cobalt reserves increased by more than 76% between 2000 and 2025 to an estimated six million tons, representing more than half of known global reserves.
The increase reflects, in part, the expansion of exploration and improved understanding of the country’s vast Copperbelt deposits.
Jean Jacques Kayembe Mufwankolo, Congo head of the Norway-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, noted that a transparent system based on objective criteria could reduce the informational advantage of companies already operating in the country while encouraging a broader range of investors.
Moreover, Moise Liboto Makuta, Congo head of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, added that comprehensive geological information could allow the government to negotiate with mining companies from a stronger position.
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