The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking greater access to historical geological records held in Belgium as the country looks to exert greater control over the information underpinning its mineral wealth.

The involvement of US mining company KoBold Metals has added a new dimension to the debate, bringing geological archives into the wider discussion around digital exploration and critical minerals.

But how valuable is geological information collected decades ago?

We speak with Junior Nsimba Badila, Klaus Eckhof and Russell Menezes, CEO of RadiXplor, about resource sovereignty, China's longstanding presence in the DRC, historical exploration data, and the technologies being developed to make vast archives of geological information searchable and usable.

The discussion moves beyond the DRC to consider whether AI can change the economics of exploration by allowing geologists to interrogate millions of pages of historical information in a fraction of the time.

Alejandro Gonzalez, editor of Mining Technology and MINE magazine, is the host of this episode of Energy Technology: Industry Insights.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on Power Technology, Offshore Technology and Mining Technology, all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:01) Intro

(02:14) Why the DRC wants access

(03:10) Making use of historical record: the challenge

(04:02) Digitalisation and AI driven geological research

(07:20) A new kid on the block: critical minerals

(08:30) Who will drive this effort?

(12:40) Ends