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AI Mining · Congo · Critical Minerals · Geopolitical Risk
KoBold Metals, an AI-driven mining company backed by Bill Gates, is embroiled in a dispute with Belgium's Royal Museum for Central Africa over digitizing colonial-era geological archives crucial for mineral exploration in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where only 5% is mapped with modern techniques.
KoBold signed an agreement with Congo to digitize the Belgian museum's records and make them public, aiming to drive investment in Congo's minerals sector. The company, valued at $2.96 billion, successfully used AI to discover a vast high-grade copper deposit in Zambia after digitizing state archives there, and plans to sink its first mine shaft this year.
The Belgian museum, however, opposes KoBold's involvement, citing its own ongoing digitization efforts and concerns about a private company managing public archives with commercial interests. Museum director-general Bart Ouvry stated they want the records openly accessible but only with Congo's permission.
Experts like Gracelin Baskaran of CSIS and Stanford Professor Jef Caers argue that Congo should decide on its data management, with Caers calling the museum's stance "delay tactics" after decades of inaction. Congo, which holds a historic grudge against its former colonial ruler, views the spat as frustrating, as the archives could significantly speed up exploration in the resource-rich but infrastructure-poor country.
KoBold is also digitizing archives in Lubumbashi, Congo, and Burundi, aiming to fill the "95% hole" in Congo's modern geological mapping.
