DRC: Roskill predicts the evolution of the cobalt sector towards an oligopoly by 2025
By 2025, the three main cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could supply more than half of the world market, according to information provided by sector analysis firm Roskill through a note that it published last week.
In the said briefing note, Roskill indicates that the DRC cobalt sector is expected to be more dominated by existing large producers and evolve into an oligopoly in the near future.
Analysts at the Roskill firm explain this prediction by the fact that miners must increasingly turn to underground mining, as the high-grade cobalt deposits that once stood abundantly near the surface are depleting. .
And to access minerals high enough to operate sustainably and extend the life of mines, they say, miners are being forced to dig more.
In addition, mining companies operating in the DRC are also increasingly inclined to switch from oxidized to sulphide deposits to unlock new resources.
“ Underground mining can be more expensive than surface mining […]. In the case of the DRC, the deeper the mines, the more the copper / cobalt ratio increases, reflecting increasingly high copper contents to the detriment of cobalt ”, indicates the firm.
According to her, this should raise the barrier to entry for junior cobalt miners a bit more both economically and technically.
