DRC ranks first Producer of Cobalt with 73% of the total supply in 2022
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ranks first in the ranking of cobalt-producing countries in Africa, according to a study by the Cobalt Institute.
The source informs that the country produced more than 70% of the total supply in 2022, thus dominating the world production of cobalt.
The document informs that the DRC is not the only African country included in the ranking.
Madagascar remained Africa’s second largest producer last year, overtaking Morocco, which is home to the continent’s only mine producing only cobalt.
The African top 5 is completed by Zambia and South Africa, two countries where cobalt is a by-product of the exploitation of other metals such as copper or nickel.
Regarding refining, China dominates the world market with 76% of the total refined production of cobalt in 2022, against 74% the previous year.
Although the leader in mining production, the DRC only ranks 7th in the world for cobalt refining countries, with 1% of the total supply, overtaken by Madagascar (2%) and followed by Morocco (1%).
