The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has launched a nationwide geological mapping program aimed at significantly expanding the amount of modern geoscientific data available for mineral exploration.
The program, known as PC2G-RDC, will deploy eight aircraft to collect high-resolution geophysical data across several underexplored regions, the National Geological Service of the Congo (SGNC) said on Monday.
The data will be used to identify areas with mineral potential and improve scientific understanding of the country’s subsurface resources, with the aim of attracting investment into regions that have received limited exploration.
Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba said the program could increase the DRC’s geoscientific coverage to 46.1% from 22.27%.
Mapping underexplored regions
The survey builds on geological work previously carried out in Greater Katanga, the country’s main copper– and cobalt-producing region.
Priority areas include Kongo Central, Kwango, Kwilu, Greater Kasai, and Greater Katanga.
Congolese authorities estimate that less than 10% of the country has been thoroughly explored, despite the DRC already ranking as Africa’s largest copper producer and the world’s largest cobalt producer.
The government expects the new datasets to reduce geological uncertainty for future exploration, improve the identification of prospective mineral zones, and strengthen its ability to evaluate mineral development opportunities.
Greater control over geological data
The initiative comes as the DRC government seeks greater control over its mining sector, including the geological information underpinning future mineral discoveries.
“The sovereignty does not begin when a mineral is extracted. It begins when the state knows its territory, owns its maps, controls its data, preserves its samples, develops its laboratories and trains the experts capable of interpreting that information,” SGNC Director General Raoul Wazenga Vitima says.
“Congo should not only be better mapped; it should increasingly be capable of mapping itself.”
The mapping program will be financed by the Fonds Minier pour les Générations Futures and carried out by Spanish geophysics company Xcalibur.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Main Image: Landscape Alliance | Flickr
