US firm linked to Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates gets closer to Congolese mining permits
Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. According to the list announced March 4, 2019 by Forbes, the riches of Bezos, 55, have swelled by $19 billion in one year and he is now worth $131 billion. PHOTO | JIM WATSON | AFP
American mining firm Kobold Metals, which is backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, says it has inked a deal that could allow it to mine lithium in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first fruits of Donald Trump forays in Kinshasa.
It means the company, which specialises in mining exploration using the world's most advanced technologies is about to acquire around 17,000 mining concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This project is part of its ambitious large-scale exploration programme in the country and the company will initially be allowed to explore deposits.
But the firm is coming to an area where China currently reigns supreme. Kobold Metals has not yet obtained exploration licences, but it has already signed a strategic agreement with the Congolese government.
The DRC is so rich in minerals that some estimates say more has not been explored and discovered yet. The subsoil of Manono, for example, in the south of the DRC, contains 132 million tonnes of lithium reserves.
American companies are keen to get their hands on these deposits to exploit them for the production of batteries for electric vehicles.
The firm claims to have obtained seven permits to search for lithium and other minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This first step should lead to a cadastral notice and a draft decree for the granting of exploration permits.
The latter will then be submitted to the Minister of Mines for signature. These formalities should be completed quickly, and the fact that the deal with the American company is underpinned by a broader agreement between the US and the DRC aimed at attracting American investment to the DRC with a view to establishing peace in the country should speed things up.
For American officials, the choice to invest in the Congolese mining sector has become strategic. On Thursday 28 August, the US Bureau of African Affairs announced that it had invited around 30 “private sector leaders and DRC government officials to Washington for a Securing Energy roundtable to advance investment in critical minerals, energy, and infrastructure.”
“The discussion also focused on positioning the Lobito Corridor as the key route for regional trade and long-term stability. Increased US investment into the DRC will advance shared US-DRC interests and lay the foundation for long-term stability in the DRC,” said a statement from the US Bureau of African Affairs.
These projects take place in the context of the peace talks involving the DRC and Rwanda, which offer an opportunity to unlock the immense economic potential of the Great Lakes region and strengthen US critical minerals supply chains.
Kobold Metals aims to help American projects in the DRC succeed. But this company should also help the DRC to better explore its subsoil, only about 30 percent of which has been explored, according to figures from the Ministry of Mines.
Kobold Metals uses artificial intelligence to analyse vast geological data sets (satellite images, old maps, field surveys) and accurately identify promising areas.
This method, which is still relatively uncommon in the sector, reduces exploration costs and saves time.
