The Democratic Republic of Congo has granted seven lithium exploration licenses to the U.S. mining firm KoBold Metals, which is backed by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
The licenses give the company access to the southeastern town of Manono, home to one of the world’s largest lithium reserves, estimated at more than 44 million tons.
The move follows an agreement signed in July between the Congolese government and the company, as part of a national program to develop strategic minerals—chief among them lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and electronic devices.
Manono first drew global attention in 2020, when an Australian mining company revealed the scale of the reserves. However, the project remains under legal dispute between Kinshasa and the Australian firm, after authorities refused to grant it an exploitation license.
This development comes amid a global race to secure supplies of critical minerals vital to the renewable energy transition, further cementing DR Congo’s role as a major player in the global lithium market.
