KoBold Metals, the AI-driven mineral explorer backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, has launched a major lithium exploration campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company has committed more than $50 million to the effort through early 2027.
The move comes as the United States pushes to stockpile critical minerals and reduce China’s dominance over global supply chains. Congo is a natural target. It’s already the world’s top cobalt producer and Africa’s largest copper supplier. Its lithium reserves are vast — but still largely unexplored.
KoBold CEO Kurt House didn’t understate the ambition. “A year ago, KoBold had no employees and no land in Congo,” he said. “Today we are the largest American investor in the country, launching the most ambitious mineral exploration programme ever attempted.”
What the campaign looks like
The exploration program spans 13 licences and covers airborne surveys across 30,000 square kilometers. It also involves extensive drilling and large-scale geochemical sampling, with lithium as the primary target.
KoBold is deploying proprietary airborne sensors, real-time AI-updated drilling targets, and a mobile laboratory to speed up the process. The company expects to expand its licence footprint to roughly 5,000 square kilometers by year’s end.
The campaign centers on the Manono region of Tanganyika province. The area is home to some of the world’s highest-grade lithium pegmatites — a geological formation prized for its mineral concentration.
KoBold has already paid more than $20 million to Congo’s treasury. That makes it the largest new exploration investor in the central African nation in recent years.
Legal dispute with AVZ Minerals
The project isn’t without controversy. Australia-based AVZ Minerals is in international arbitration over rights to the Manono block. AVZ claims that a July agreement between the Congolese government and KoBold breaches an existing order.
The dispute adds a layer of legal uncertainty to a region that’s rapidly becoming one of the most contested mineral exploration zones in the world.
China already has a head start
Meanwhile, China’s Zijin Mining is set to begin Congo’s first lithium production in June, operating in the northeastern part of the same Manono area. That timeline puts China ahead in the race to tap Congo’s lithium potential — at least for now.
The U.S. established a formal minerals agreement with Congo’s government last year, signaling Washington’s intent to compete. KoBold’s $50 million commitment is the most visible American move yet in that contest.
The stakes are enormous. Lithium is essential for electric vehicle batteries and the broader clean energy transition. Whoever controls supply will hold significant leverage over the industries that define the next several decades.
