Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE state cobalt agency in Democratic Republic of Congo has produced its first 1,000 tonnes of traceable artisanal cobalt, a key step in formalising the sector in a country that supplies much of the world’s battery metal.
Congo holds about 72% of global cobalt reserves and accounts for over 74% of supply, much of it from informal artisanal mines. Artisanal mining is a lifeline for Congo, employing an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million people and supporting more than 10 million people indirectly.
Unregulated cobalt avoids official oversight, making supply hard to track and vulnerable to government confiscations. That uncertainty reduces the amount of ethically sourced material and pushes up prices for traceable cobalt. Aiming to curb oversupply and support prices, Congo introduced export quotas in October after a months-long export ban.
The quota system, managed by regulator ARESCOM, restricts exports and promotes local processing by making it less attractive for producers to ship out raw cobalt. Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC), created in 2019 as a subsidiary of state-owned miner Gécamines, announced its first 1,000 tonnes of traceable artisanal cobalt at a ceremony in Congolese mining town Kolwezi on November 13. The company said its traceability model will clean up the supply chain and align production with international environmental, social and governance standards.
Global cobalt demand is forecast to rise 40% by 2030, driven by demand for electric vehicles and energy storage, according to the International Energy Agency. Automakers and electronics firms increasingly require proof of ethical sourcing, putting pressure on producers to eliminate child labor and unsafe practices.
