Millions of handwritten, fragile and not yet fully inventoried documents are stored on nearly 500 meters of shelving at the AfricaMuseum in the Belgian town of Tervuren. They document how the mineral wealth of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was mapped and exploited by Belgium during the colonial era.
Congo is pushing for the transfer and digitization of the archive to identify new deposits of vital minerals like cobalt and copper. KoBold Metals, a private mining startup backed by US billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, has offered to assist the country. But the AfricaMuseum has repeatedly rejected the proposal.
Global race for rare earths
In 1885, Belgian King Leopold II took possession of Congo, plundered the territory and subjected its population to extreme brutality. Leopold ruled it as his personal domain; in 1908 it became a Belgian colony — a source of rubber, ivory and minerals — and, in 1960 Congo gained independence.The remains of Patrice Lumumba, the slain Congolese independence hero returned home from Belgium in June 2022, more than six decades after his assassinationImage: Guerchom Ndebo/AFP
Today, global competition for critical materials is increasing steadily — and Congo remains rich in natural resources. There are deposits of lithium, copper, cobalt, and coltan, 90% of which remains untapped, according to the Ministry of Mines.
