The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spending $180 million to map its vast and largely unexplored territory as Kinshasa seeks greater control over the geological information that could determine where billions of dollars in future mining investment flows

The policy comes as competition intensifies between the United States and China for access to critical minerals.

The plan will tighten Kinshasa's grip on the world's biggest cobalt producer and second-largest copper supplier, according to an official and seven industry sources, and could be…