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DRC’s Sovereign Control Over Geological Data

Kumari Sonali

DRC’s Sovereign Control Over Geological Data:

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced plans to tighten state control over its geological data by creating a comprehensive national databank for critical minerals. This move aims to extend state influence over future mineral discoveries, direct billions of dollars in mining exploration, and safeguard the nation’s “strategic interests”.

  • Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) located in Central Africa, it is the 2nd-largest country in Africa (after Algeria) and the 11th largest in the world.
    Capital: Kinshasa, situated on the banks of the Congo River.
  • The DRC shares land borders with nine countries: Republic of the Congo (northwest), Central African Republic (north), South Sudan (northeast), Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania (east), Zambia (southeast), and Angola (southwest).
  • The Equator passes directly through the northern part of the country.
  • It is the 2nd-longest river in Africa (after the Nile) and uniquely crosses the equator twice. It boasts massive hydroelectric potential, most notably harnessed through the Inga Dam complex and the proposed Grand Inga Dam project envisioned to become one of the world’s largest hydropower projects) situated on the Inga Falls in the DRC.
  • It is the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world (after the Amazon), acting as a crucial global carbon sink.
  • Its eastern border is flanked by the African Great Lakes, including Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Lake Tanganyika (world’s second-deepest lake after Lake Baikal in Siberia), and Lake Mweru.
  • The eastern highlands feature the snow-capped Ruwenzori Mountains (highest peak: Margherita Peak) and active volcanoes like Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira in the Virunga volcanic chain.
  • The southern region, particularly the Katanga Copperbelt, is world-renowned for its exceptionally high-grade copper and cobalt deposits.
  • The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt (holding reserves estimated at 6 million tons) and it is Africa’s largest producer of copper.
  • It also hosts rich deposits of lithium, tantalum, germanium, and gold.