DR Congo may impose curbs on cobalt exports when existing ban ends

The Democratic Republic of Congo said it may impose strict curbs on cobalt exports when its existing four-month ban ends.

The country accounts for nearly three-quarters of global cobalt mine production, but since February, it has enacted a four-month export suspension of the metal.

Kinshasa said this was to address a global oversupply which had caused a significant drop in prices.

The metal is used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones.

Kinshasa had hoped its export ban would stabilise the market and protect the interests of Congolese producers and investors.

But on Wednesday, the president of the government agency regulating strategic minerals said that while the stockpiles that had depressed prices had been significantly reduced, they were not yet exhausted.

Patrick Luabeya said that the agency’s next decision "will inevitably imply a strict limitation of exports in whole or in part until market balance is reached with regard to the supply and demand of cobalt”.

He added that the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets would consult industry players in June regarding the ban.