AfricaMuseum refuses to yield Congo geological archives despite US pressure
3 hours ago
- #AfricaMuseum
- #mining
- #Congo
- AfricaMuseum in Tervuren refuses to hand over geological archives on Congo to US mining company Kobold Metals.
- The museum aims to digitize the archives itself, supported by the EU and in collaboration with Congo's Geological services.
- Kobold Metals, backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, seeks to use AI to analyze the data for mining locations rich in cobalt, copper, and coltan.
- The archives contain documents from defunct Belgian mining companies, covering Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and other African countries.
- The Trump administration is pressuring the museum diplomatically to transfer the archives, but Belgium supports the museum's stance against private company access.