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Congo supports KoBold to resolve Manono mining rights

dispute

involving AVZ Minerals

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KoBold's exploration licenses deadline set for July 31

DAKAR, July 18 (Reuters) - KoBold Metals, the mining

company backed by U.S. billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates,

has signed an agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo

that positions the U.S. firm to acquire the contested Manono

lithium deposit and launch large-scale critical mineral

exploration, it said on Friday.

The deal represents a dramatic escalation in the battle for

Manono in northern Congo, considered one of the world's largest

lithium deposits, crucial for electric vehicle batteries.

Australian-based AVZ Minerals has been locked in a prolonged

legal dispute with Congo's government over mining rights.

KoBold's agreement effectively positions the California-based

firm as Congo's preferred partner to resolve the impasse and

develop the resource.

DRC President Félix Tshisekedi confirmed the deal in a

social media post. AVZ could not be immediately reached for

comment.

The deal was signed by Congo's mines minister and KoBold's

local director on Thursday, but was announced on Friday.

It commits the Congolese government to support KoBold's

initiative to buy and develop the Roche Dure lithium deposit

located at Manono and resolve disputes that have delayed the

project's development, according to the agreement.

AVZ initially held the permit to develop the Manono project,

but in 2023, the DRC's Mines Ministry revoked this permit on the

basis that the project had not advanced quickly enough. The

rights were later granted to a unit of Zijin Mining,

prompting AVZ to seek relief through the International Court of

Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce and the

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

KoBold must apply for exploration licenses covering more

than 1,600 square km (618 square miles) before July 31, while

the central African nation will appoint an envoy to facilitate

the Manono acquisition by the same deadline.

"KoBold Metals shall initiate a large-scale mineral

exploration program in the DRC, using the world's most advanced

technology to find deposits of critical minerals," the agreement

states.

KoBold says it uses artificial intelligence to locate

copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium deposits.

The deal comes after President Donald Trump brokered a deal in

June to stop fighting in mineral-rich eastern Congo in return

for Western investments. The deal supports the U.S. Lobito

corridor initiative aimed at creating secure supply chains and

reducing Chinese dominance in critical minerals.

KoBold will also digitize geological records at the Royal

Museum of Central Africa and provide free public access to

historic geoscientific data through Congo's National Geological

Service, the agreement states.