With a staff of barely 40 in Brazzaville and a few dozen other employees scattered around the provinces, Congo's Ministry of Mining Industries and Geology is a lightweight in comparison to the country's dominant hydrocarbons sector. It consists of the minister's team, the oversight and auditing authority, the mining and geology departments, various bodies that report to it such as the Centre de recherches géologiques et minières (CRGM), and the regional branches. These various entities oversee a