Belgium And A US Startup Are Fighting Over DRC’s Mining Data

A dispute over access to decades-old geological records that could help unlock the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral wealth has pitted Belgium against a US-backed mining startup, with both sides arguing over who should control data collected during the colonial era.

The AfricaMuseum in the Belgian town of Tervuren holds nearly 500 metres of shelves containing millions of handwritten and fragile documents mapping Congo’s mineral resources during Belgian rule.

The DRC government wants the archives transferred and digitised to help identify deposits of critical minerals including cobalt, copper and lithium. KoBold Metals, a US mining startup backed by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, has offered to help digitise the records.

But the proposal has been rejected by the museum, which says the archives are public property and should not be handed to a private company.

“We scan and digitize the documents and make them immediately accessible to the public,” said Benjamin Katabuka, Managing Director of KoBold Metals, DRC.

AfricaMuseum Director Bart Ouvry said the institution was open to cooperation with KoBold but opposed the company taking control of the entire geological archive.

“We would like to work with them on certain files — but what we could not accept was their proposal to take over our entire geological archive,” AfricaMuseum Director Bart Ouvry told DW.

“The privatization of a complete archive is not possible for us. We would consider it unethical to leave this to a company.”

The Belgian government backs the museum’s position, saying it cannot give exclusive access to a foreign private entity.

“Under no circumstances can Belgium grant exclusive access to a foreign company or private entity with which it has no contractual relationship,” said spokesperson Florinda Baleci.

The dispute comes as global competition intensifies for minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries, electronics and defence industries.

The DRC, one of the world’s largest sources of cobalt and copper, is seeking to expand its role in global supply chains as the United States and other countries try to reduce dependence on China.

KoBold Metals is among several US companies seeking opportunities in Congo, where large parts of the country’s mineral resources remain unexplored.

The company says the digitisation of historical geological records could accelerate exploration and help Congo better understand its own mineral potential.

Last year, KoBold received approval to search for lithium and other minerals in the DRC and reached agreements with Kinshasa on digitising geological data, including records held in Belgium.

According to KoBold, the request to access the archives came from the Congolese government.

The company has cited a Belgian law from 2022 establishing a framework for returning colonial-era collections to African countries, though archives are excluded from that legislation.

Ouvry said the museum recognised the importance of sharing the information with Congo but argued that the archives were not solely about the DRC.

“The archives are Belgian archives. They deal with the Congo, but also with other countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, neighboring countries where Belgian companies have long been active,” he told DW.

“Therefore, it is not up to the Congolese government or a private company to decide about these archives. Of course, we recognize that it is … important from a moral and political perspective to share these archives with the Congolese government,” the museum director clarified. “But we must accomplish that ourselves.”

The AfricaMuseum said it had already begun its own digitisation project with the National Geological Survey of the DRC, supported by the European Union.

“We started development two years ago. When they [KoBold Metals] approached us last year, our project was already quite advanced. Production actually began in January. We have hired staff for this work, because part of it is technical, but the majority is scientific in nature and must be carried out by our own scientists,” Ouvry said.

Artificial intelligence is being used as part of the process, he added.

“Today, there is hardly any scientific project in which AI is not used,” Ouvry said.

The museum said copies of records can already be provided upon request, while private companies must present a letter of support from Kinshasa before consulting geological maps.

Ouvry said the entire archive was expected to be digitised within four to five years and made publicly available in line with Belgian and European law.

He also rejected suggestions that the Trump administration had pressured Belgium to open the archive to KoBold Metals.

The row highlights a broader debate over control of colonial-era knowledge and whether countries that once ruled resource-rich territories should retain ownership of information that could shape future mining deals.

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