Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos-backed KoBold says China could delay its $50 million DRC lithium hunt by a year

The California-based company, backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, plans to fly an aircraft equipped with advanced gravity-sensing technology over prospective mineral areas in the Central African country.

The equipment can identify small variations in the Earth’s gravitational field, helping geologists map structures beneath the ground and narrow the search for lithium and other minerals before drilling begins.

However, the technology can also be used for military purposes, including submarine navigation and stealth detection. Its proposed deployment in the DRC therefore requires clearance under the UN Security Council’s sanctions framework for the country.

KoBold says the delayed approval could prevent it from completing the survey during the coming dry season, when weather conditions are better suited to aerial mineral exploration.

According to the Financial Times⁠, KoBold asked the US State Department for assistance and alleged in correspondence sent in September that China could use the UN process to obstruct its commercial activities in the DRC.

The United States has since submitted an exemption request for a KoBold contractor to take the equipment into the country for civilian mineral mapping. The application had not received approval at the time of the report.

KoBold said that without the exemption, it would be unable to fly the survey. A prolonged delay could make the company miss the dry-season window and postpone the operation by another year.

KoBold’s contention that China could block the application remains an allegation. China’s foreign ministry rejected the claim, saying “the allegations made by the company in question are inconsistent with the facts,” but did not provide further details.

Washington weighs in on KoBold’s DRC plans

The US State Department said Washington was committed to expanding American private-sector investment in the DRC and urged the UN sanctions committee to support the responsible development of the country’s mining industry.

The department described KoBold’s equipment as a tool that could locate mineral deposits more precisely, improve the planning of mining projects and strengthen international critical-mineral supply chains.

The dispute brings the commercial rivalry between the United States and China over Africa’s critical minerals into a UN regulatory process designed principally to restrict the movement of weapons and related equipment.

The Security Council’s DRC sanctions regime applies an arms embargo to non-governmental entities and individuals operating in the country. The approval question concerns the surveying equipment’s potential dual use rather than KoBold’s exploration permits.

KoBold’s programme is part of a wider American effort to establish access to minerals required for electric vehicles, electricity networks, data centres and other advanced industries.

China already holds a commanding position in several African mining and mineral-processing markets. Chinese companies are particularly prominent in the DRC’s copper and cobalt industries and are developing the country’s emerging lithium sector.

That makes the DRC increasingly important to Washington as the United States tries to reduce its dependence on Chinese-controlled critical-mineral supply chains.

A $50 million exploration campaign

KoBold launched its DRC lithium exploration programme with a commitment to spend more than $50 million by early 2027.

The campaign includes airborne surveys, drilling and the collection of tens of thousands of geochemical samples. KoBold previously said it had paid more than $20 million to the Congolese Treasury after entering the country.

Its original programme covered 13 exploration permits and proposed aerial surveys across approximately 30,000 square kilometres. Congolese mining registry records dated September 30 subsequently showed KoBold holding 14 active exploration permits covering roughly 3,020 square kilometres.

The apparent difference reflects the distinction between KoBold’s licensed ground and the much larger territory it intends to examine through regional aerial surveys.

The company’s 14 permits are distributed across Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami and Haut-Katanga provinces. Eight are located around Manono and Malemba-Nkulu, areas targeted primarily for lithium, while six around Sakania are associated with copper exploration.

These are exploration permits rather than mining licences. KoBold must still locate commercially viable deposits, define their size and quality, complete technical and environmental studies and obtain further approvals before production can begin.

KoBold uses artificial intelligence to analyse geological information and identify locations that conventional exploration techniques may overlook. Its investors include Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures and US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, alongside Bezos and other prominent technology investors.

The company raised $291 million earlier in 2026 at a valuation of approximately $4 billion, according to the Financial Times.

Its DRC campaign follows a major copper discovery at Mingomba in neighbouring Zambia, where KoBold is working towards developing a mine that could require investment of more than $2 billion.

A one-year delay in the DRC could affect more than the American company’s timetable. It could postpone geological work, local investment and the identification of deposits that might attract much larger development funding.

Washington also risks slowing a high-profile effort to combine American technology and private investment with African mineral resources to build a supply chain less dependent on China.