Description
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has enormous mineral resources, including the source of the uranium that was used for the Hiroshima bomb and many elements that are critical to today’s electronics. After a brief historical review, an overview of the country’s mineral resources is presented, along with the social and political challenges of mining in the DRC.
Paul Parmentier is a retired geologist who worked in geothermal and environmental geology for over 40 years. He grew up in the Congo, where his father was a mining engineer, and he has retained a personal interest in the DRC. John Geissman is a professor emeritus of geoscience at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of New Mexico, as well as a past president of the Geological Society of America.