The DRC holds roughly 70% of the world's cobalt — the metal inside every EV battery, every smartphone, every green energy system the West is betting its future on. The country is one of the poorest on earth.

This isn't an accident. It's a system.

Here's what the data shows when you actually dig into the contracts:

• Mining concessions granted to foreign companies at royalty rates as low as 0.5% of extracted value

• "Infrastructure for resources" deals where the infrastructure never materializes but the resources do

• Government officials who sign off on deals, then surface as consultants or shareholders in the same companies years later

This pattern doesn't just exist in the DRC. It shows up in Guinea's bauxite sector, Nigeria's oil block allocations, Sudan's gold trade, Mozambique's gas deals.

The African Ledger exists to document this — with receipts. Contract terms, transaction data, corporate ownership chains, the full picture.

No spin. Just data.

#Africa #Geopolitics #Corruption #Resources #Investigation