DRC: In Manono, KoBold Metals hunts for lithium using artificial intelligence

The American mining company KoBold Metals is relying on artificial intelligence to prospect for lithium in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, around the town of Manono, reported Africanews on September 25, 2026. It is a new technological frontier in the global race for critical minerals, of which the DRC is one of the primary reservoirs.

Algorithms fed by colonial maps

Founded in 2018 and backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, KoBold is deploying teams of geologists equipped with high-precision GPS and tablets connected in real-time to servers in California, according to Africanews. About 2,000 soil samples are collected each week to detect the "geochemical signatures" of pegmatites, the rocks that contain lithium.

The AI system cross-references old geological maps, drilling logs from the colonial era, and satellite images to produce predictive models. Since 2025, the company has obtained 14 exploration permits covering more than 3,000 square kilometers and plans to invest more than 50 million dollars by early 2027. Its general manager in the DRC, Benjamin Katabuka, mentions "very encouraging results," without providing further details.

A geopolitical issue

This establishment is part of the American strategy to secure access to strategic metals and reduce Chinese dominance: according to Africanews, China controls 70 to 80% of the Congolese copper and cobalt markets. It follows a partnership agreement concluded in December between Washington and Kinshasa. The DRC is the world's leading producer of cobalt and the second-largest producer of copper, metals that are essential for energy transition batteries.

And for the residents of Manono?

The wealth of the subsoil contrasts with the local reality. Manono, founded at the beginning of the 20th century for tin mining, has a poverty rate of 88%, according to Africanews. Miners employed at Chinese sites earn less than 200 dollars per month there. The territory's administrator, Cyprien Kitanga, points out that past companies extracted the ore while leaving behind holes for the children of Manono.

This is the entire challenge for the DRC: ensuring that technological innovation, wherever it comes from, does not reproduce the old extractive model. Local processing, skilled jobs, skills transfer, and public oversight of contracts will be the criteria for judging whether this new gold rush finally benefits the Congolese people.