Introduction. The Democratic Republic of Congo is often described as one of the richest countries on earth in terms of natural resources. Beneath its soil lie deposits of cobalt, copper, coltan, lithium, gold, diamonds, tin, uranium, and rare earth minerals with a combined estimated value exceeding 24 trillion US dollars. These are not marginal commodities. They are the raw materials that the entire global clean energy transition, the electric vehicle revolution, the smartphone industry, and the modern digital economy depend upon absolutely. And yet the DRC consistently ranks among the poorest nations on earth. According to the World Bank, an estimated 73.5 percent of Congolese people lived on less than 2.15 US dollars per day in 2024. By 2025, 81.1 percent live on less than three dollars per day. The country ranks 164 out of 174 nations on the Human Capital Index. A Congolese child born today can expect to achieve only 37 percent of their productive potential compared to a chil...