Cobalt - Copperbelt Katanga Mining

Eurasian Resources Group to Double Copper and Cobalt Production in DRC and Zambia with $1.8B Investment

April 26, 2023April 27, 2023 Constance

Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), a Kazakh company registered in Luxembourg, plans to invest US$1.8 billion in the development of its mines in the DRC. According to the words of the Managing Director of this company, Benedikt Sobotta, the company intends to develop the minerals produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ERG thus envisages significant production of copper and cobalt in this year 2023, with a focus on its mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as in Zambia. “Regions like the DRC that produce the… Read More Here

Mining in Zambia Cobalt

Zambia’s Cobalt Production Reaches 251 Tons in 2022

April 26, 2023April 26, 2023 Constance

Official data from the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development shows that Zambia’s annual cobalt production in 2022 has reached 251 tons, representing a 2% increase from the 247 tons produced in 2021. The country’s cobalt production had previously decreased after the collapse of international prices. The Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, revealed that the country produced 251 metric tons of cobalt in 2022, 247 in 2021, 315 in 2020, and 878 in 2019. Reports show that global supplies of refined cobalt, which is used in the rechargeable batteries… Read More Here

Mining in DRC Cobalt Copper

$75M secured by Gecamines’ subsidiary for the construction of new unit

April 13, 2023April 13, 2023 Constance

STL, a subsidiary of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining company Gecamines, announced on Tuesday 11th April that it has secured $75 million to build a new hydro-metallurgical unit. The unit will produce materials used in manufacturing semiconductors and extend the life of its existing facilities by 30 years. The company, which focuses on making commercial use of a slag heap in Lubumbashi, the capital city of the mining region of Katanga in southeastern Congo, plans to begin operations from August this year. The new unit will produce copper… Read More Here

Cobalt Mining in DRC

The price of Cobalt rises to 34,256 USD per tonne this week

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023 Constance

After several months of scarcity on the international market, the price of cobalt should record a price increase this week. According to projections by experts from the Commission Nationale des Mercuriiales, a service attached to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, cobalt should trade at 34,256 USD per tonne this week against 33,556 USD per tonne last week, i.e. a price difference positive of 700 USD. Cobalt should not be the only mining product exported from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to experience a price increase this week. Statistical data… Read More Here

Mining in DRC Artisanal mining Cobalt Taxes

New effort maps taxes and fees to increase transparency in Congo’s artisanal cobalt supply chain

April 10, 2023April 10, 2023 Constance

Studies show that heavy taxes and complex administrative burdens encourage extortion, smuggling, and debt bondage. IMPACT is launching a new project tackling corruption in Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) artisanal cobalt sector with an effort to map all the taxes and fees supply chain actors are legally required to pay. The Mapping Payments project, which is implemented in collaboration with the Congolese non-profit Action pour la Défense des droits humains (ADDH), kicked off last month with a workshop in Kolwezi, Lualaba Province—the town at the heart of DRC’s artisanal cobalt mining sector.… Read More Here

Mining in Zambia Cobalt Copper

Demands for Revamping Chambishi Metals Plant on the Rise

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023 Constance

Stakeholders in the mining industry on the Copperbelt have continued to demand action from the owners of Chambishi Metals, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), to either revive the plant or hand it over to the Zambian government to seek alternative investors. Augustine Mubanga, the former Mining Suppliers President, has urged for the owners of Chambishi Metals to be penalized if they fail to take action. Mubanga stated that the plant should be put into productive use and not remain on care and maintenance. He added that ERG should find ways to… Read More Here

Mining in DRC Battery Metals Cobalt Copper

DRC signs Framework for pre-feasibility study of economic zone for Batteries and EVs

March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 Constance

Will the DRC manage to set up its ambitious project to produce batteries and electric vehicles? Yes, we answer in the government. Prime Minister Sama Lukonde chaired this Monday, March 27, 2023 in Kinshasa the signing ceremony of the framework agreement relating to the creation of a special economic zone (SEZ) dedicated to this project. The stakeholders in this project are the DRC, Zambia, whose Minister of Industry came from Kinshasa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Afreximbank. The signed framework agreement aims to pave the way for a pre-feasibility… Read More Here

Battery Metals Cobalt Copper International

Value of Battery metals in newly-sold EVs tripled on rampant lithium, nickel prices

March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 Constance

The EV Metal Index, which tracks the value of battery metals in newly registered passenger EVs (including full battery, plug-in and conventional hybrids) around the world, totalled $26.9 billion in 2022, an increase of 232% compared to the prior year. That figure means as much EV battery metal business was done in 2022 than the combined total of the preceding five years. And that came despite pandemic lockdowns for most of the year in the world’s largest EV market and turmoil in Europe, the world’s no. 2 electric car market,… Read More Here

International Battery Metals Cobalt Copper Nickel

Seafloor Mining lowers Battery metals’ Environmental impact, study finds

March 26, 2023March 26, 2023 Constance

The Metals Company (TMC) on Tuesday 21st of March released the results of a lifecycle assessment of the environmental impacts of the company’s NORI-D Polymetallic Nodule Project carried out by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. TMC’s project in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and Mexico aims to bring online the planet’s largest undeveloped deposit of battery metals. The nickel, cobalt, manganese and copper are found in potato-sized rock-like nodules The Benchmark study assessed, among others, the global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, particulate matter formation and… Read More Here

Mining in DRC Artisanal mining Cobalt

EU and Canadian IMPACT team up to Combat Cobalt Corruption in DRC

March 24, 2023March 24, 2023 Constance

The Canadian organization IMPACT, which specializes in improving the management of natural resources, launched on March 21 in the city of Kolwezi the project “Mapping costs”. This is an initiative funded by the European Union and intended to fight against corruption by promoting transparency of taxes and royalties applicable in the artisanal cobalt sector in the DRC. This initiative brings together various stakeholders, including local elected officials, artisanal miners, civil society actors, traders and experts in mining and financial management, this project will consist of holding a series of workshops to… Read More Here