The Democratic Republic of Congo has resumed cobalt exports after a 10-month ban aimed at boosting prices for the key battery metal.
KINSHASA: The Democratic Republic of Congo has resumed cobalt exports after a 10-month halt intended to stem falling prices.
Finance Minister Doudou Fwamba confirmed the resumption began on Friday.
He said the suspension imposed in February was designed to ensure “national sovereignty over raw materials”.
The DRC is the world’s leading producer of cobalt, a metal critical for electric vehicle and smartphone batteries.
It produced 76% of global supply in 2024.
“How can we be the number-one supplier of 70% of this strategic product yet not influence price formation? We refused to accept that,” Fwamba told reporters.
The ban was a response to an international oversupply that drove down prices, notably from Chinese mining giant CMOC.
The company operates two of the world’s largest cobalt mines in the DRC.
Fwamba said the strategy had paid off, with cobalt prices rising from USD 22,000 per tonne to between USD 54,000 and USD 55,000.
He added the country had lost fiscal revenue due to the earlier price decline.
The move was led by ARECOMS, the government body regulating small-scale mining.
Artisanal mining accounts for up to 5% of national production and remains linked to human rights abuses.
Most cobalt is extracted from mines in the southeastern Katanga province.
This region has been spared the armed conflict ravaging eastern mining provinces.
Despite its immense mineral wealth, the DRC remains one of the world’s least developed nations.
Competition for its resources has exacerbated conflict, corruption and smuggling.
