On August 6, 2026, a new government decree officially banned the export of copper and cobalt concentrates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while simultaneously introducing a revised tax regime for strategically important mining by-products.
The export ban takes immediate effect, though projects deemed “strategic” may qualify for one-year export exemptions on a case-by-case basis. The new tax framework for by-products includes a three-month transitional period and applies a valuation coefficient of 55%.
Global new-energy supply chains are now bracing for fresh binding constraints.
It is worth noting that the latest measure does not represent an abrupt, total halt to outbound shipments, but rather a tightening and reinforcement of existing policies.
In February 2025, the DRC announced a ban on all cobalt product exports effective the following day, with the country’s market regulation and control commission stipulating a minimum four month duration and review after three months. By June 2025, amid persistently high cobalt stockpiles, the export ban was extended by another three months in an effort to stabilize the market and introduce a new quota-based system.
Glencore, the world’s second-largest cobalt producer, noted that “the export ban is expected to significantly tighten cobalt supply and underpin prices,” while also warning it would lead to large volumes of unsold resource stockpiles.
In October 2025, the export ban was lifted and replaced by an annual export quota management system. Two months later, the DRC’s Minister of Mines signed a decree suspending all mining, processing and trading activities within the artisanal copper-cobalt mining chain, while ordering compliance checks on administrative, legal and technical aspects of processing firms, as well as the traceability and legality of ore sources.
From short-term bans to quotas and now a clear export prohibition, the DRC’s restrictions on cobalt outflows have now spanned roughly a year and a half. Over this period, international cobalt prices have climbed from $10/lb to the current $27/lb.
Why does the DRC wield such outsized influence over global cobalt markets?
The DRC is the world’s largest cobalt producer and the second-largest copper supplier, accounting for roughly 70% of global cobalt output. In 2024, prior to the restrictions, global cobalt production stood at 290,000 metric tonnes (metal content), of which the DRC contributed 220,000 tonnes. That year, the country exported 200,000 tonnes of cobalt, with nearly 190,000 tonnes destined for China.
As a critical global source of strategic minerals, the DRC is pursuing two main objectives through its tightened cobalt export policies.
The first is to upgrade its domestic supply chain. Constrained by infrastructure gaps, the DRC has long maintained only limited downstream processing capacity, remaining at the early stage of the global cobalt value chain and capturing relatively low value-added margins. By restricting concentrate exports, the government aims to incentivize smelting and refining capacity to be built locally, gradually shifting away from the current concentrate-dominated export structure.
The second goal is to lift cobalt prices. Over the past two years, depressed new-energy markets and a shrinking market share for ternary battery chemistries drove cobalt prices into a sustained downtrend, repeatedly hitting fresh lows.
Although the country has limited capacity for deep processing of mineral resources and is rarely directly involved in electrolytic cobalt production, declining downstream product prices will directly strengthen smelters’ willingness to bargain down upstream raw material prices, leading to a drop in the pricing coefficient for upstream cobalt ores, lowering actual transaction prices, and thereby affecting mining revenue. The country has repeatedly restricted cobalt concentrate exports through policy measures precisely to push cobalt prices higher.
As the impact of supply contraction continues to unfold, cobalt prices may usher in a new round of upward movement.
Source: WeChat Official Account——电池工业网
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