Posted on 23 May 2025
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered the evaluation period of its cobalt export ban, amid conflicting lobbying from different miners.
The world’s largest cobalt producer introduced on 22 February an export ban as a measure to support lift prices amid a persistent oversupply. Cobalt prices had hit a nine-year low of around $10/pound, or roughly $22,000/tonne. Three months after the introduction of the measure, LME prices stand at $33,000/t.
When the measure was announced, the DRC government said exports would be suspended for an initial four months. Within three months, a revision would start to establish whether to lift, extend or modify the measure, Kallanish notes.
Last week, DRC mines minister Hizito Pakabomba told delegates at the Cobalt Congress in Singapore that with a 70% global supply share, the DRC has “strategic responsibility” in the energy transition. A major shift in the country’s policy is its plan to promote local processing and add value at home, rather than simply being a raw material exporter.
“It’s important for us to be part of the game,” he says, adding the importance of playing the role of a “partner,” enabling local transformation. The government will also ensure “an ethical, traceable, transparent and with good governance, supply of cobalt for the entire benefit of the world and the entire benefit of the industry,” he adds.
The Congolese mining policy focuses on five areas of diversification: partnerships, mineral resources, geographical areas, locally processed products and the national economy.
“Through initiatives such as the temporary suspension of raw cobalt exports, the strengthening of traceability via the Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC), and membership in international platforms such as the Minerals Security Partnership, the DRC intends to once again become a sovereign and key player in global value chains,” the ministry says in a statement. “This intervention in Singapore marks a new stage in Congolese mining diplomacy, driven by a modern, transparent and ambitious vision of the sector.”
As part of speculation on the DRC’s next step, some expect the country to introduce an export quota mechanism to maintain control of supply.
China’s CMOC, the largest cobalt producer in the country, has reportedly lobbied the government to lift the ban at the end of the four-month period (22 June) as inventories are diminishing. According to Reuters, CMOC vice president Kenny Ives told Pakabomba that the suspension is accelerating the shift to lithium iron phosphate (LFP), a battery chemistry that does not use cobalt.
Meanwhile, representatives of Glencore, the former No. 1 cobalt producer, indicated at the event the company would be receptive to an extension to the ban or a quota system. This is because the measure would continue to help balance supply and demand, and thus support a price recovery.
Some market observers estimate that Chinese smelters have cobalt inventories that could last up to six months.
Source:Kallanish
