The Democratic Republic of Congo will permanently ban cobalt exporters that violate its new quota system.
According to minutes from President Felix Tshisekedi’s cabinet meeting, the country plans to apply “exemplary sanctions,” including permanent exclusion from Congo’s new cobalt regime, to any violators of the system.
Congo, which accounts for about 70% of global cobalt output, halted exports in February after prices of the critical electric battery metal hit a nine-year low.
A quota system based on historical exports will replace the ban on October 16, Congo’s state minerals regulator ARECOMS said in September.
Miners will be allowed to ship up to 18,125 metric tons of cobalt for the rest of 2025, with annual caps of 96,600 tons in 2026 and 2027.
Only ARECOMS is authorized to issue and revoke cobalt export quotas, including decisions on allocations, said the minutes.
The cobalt export ban, which was extended in June, triggered force majeure declarations from Glencore.
Glencore, the world’s second-largest cobalt producer, supports the quota system while CMOC, the top producer, opposes it.
Tshisekedi said at the meeting that the export freeze helped drive a 92% rebound in cobalt prices since March, calling the new system “a real lever to influence this strategic market” after years of “predatory strategies,” according to the minutes.
Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq