Category: Battery Metals

ARECOMS Sets New Rules for Cobalt Export Quotas in the DRC The Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances Markets (ARECOMS) has announced a new set of regulatory measures governing the allocation and management of cobalt export quotas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to a press release issued by the regulator, the decision — No. 005/ARECOMS/2025, dated October 10, 2025 — defines the conditions for obtaining, distributing, and executing export quotas for cobalt, one of the country’s most critical mineral resources. These measures build… Read More Here

DRC Expected to Reassess Cobalt Export Suspension at Council of Ministers Meeting The Congolese government is expected to review its cobalt export suspension—renewed last June—at the conclusion of the 59th Council of Ministers meeting this Friday. Mining expert Léonide Mupepele warns that the policy is no longer delivering benefits to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mupepele argues that while the initial suspension boosted cobalt prices significantly, subsequent extensions have had little effect. “The first time, prices jumped from $21,000 per tonne to $33,000, a gain of $13,000. But after… Read More Here

Cobalt Prices Soar 90% in 2025 as Congo Export Ban Tightens Supply for EV Batteries A surge in supply from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—which produces about 80% of the world’s cobalt—combined with sluggish demand from the electric vehicle (EV) sector, drove cobalt prices to historic lows at the beginning of 2025. Copper output in the DRC, much of it controlled by Chinese companies, rose sharply in 2024, driving a nearly 40% increase in the country’s cobalt production. In February, however, the Congolese government imposed a four-month export ban,… Read More Here

DRC Weighs Future of Cobalt Export Ban Ahead of September Deadline Kinshasa, DRC — The Congolese government is expected to announce by September 21, 2025, whether it will extend, modify, or lift its current suspension of cobalt exports to the international market. The measure, first introduced on February 22, 2025, by the Regulatory and Control Authority for Strategic Mineral Substances Markets (ARECOMS), initially imposed a four-month ban on exports of cobalt hydroxides, carbonates, white alloys, and copper-cobalt concentrates. The suspension, which applied to all operators—industrial, semi-industrial, and artisanal— was later… Read More Here