Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE Democratic Republic of Congo has resumed cobalt exports after a 10-month halt, the country’s Finance Minister Doudou Fwamba said on December 23. Introduced in February, the ban was initially imposed for four months. It was designed to stabilise the market and stem falling prices due to global oversupply, the government said at the time.
The DRC is by far the world’s leading cobalt producer. It was responsible for 76% of the global cobalt production in 2024, or about 220,000 tonnes, according to the US Geological Survey. The metal is essential to produce lithium-ion batteries, including those used in smartphones and electric cars.
Fwamba said the 10-month export suspension had aimed to ensure “national sovereignty over raw materials.” “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 said.
He explained that Congo had “lost fiscal revenue due to the systematic decline in cobalt prices.” This was especially due to China’s extensive cobalt mining activity in the DRC. Chinese mining company CMOC operates Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu, two of the world’s largest mines.
Fwamba said the government’s strategy was successful, with cobalt prices rising from $22,000 per tonne to $54,000 or $55,000. Cobalt is mainly extracted from mines in the southeastern province of Katanga. The region, which is considered vital to Kinshasa’s economy and strategy, has for now been mostly spared from the relentless violence raging in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, largely under M23 control.