DR Congo: Export Ban on Copper and Cobalt Concentrates

2026-08-07 13:59

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en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 6, the Democratic Republic of Congo issued a new administrative directive banning the export of copper and cobalt concentrates, intensifying efforts to promote domestic processing and retain more value from its mineral resources.

Following Reuters' report of the ban, the benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose as much as 1.8% to $14,369.5 per metric ton, the highest level since copper hit a record peak of $14,527.5 per ton on January 29.

The DRC, the world's largest supplier of cobalt and a major producer of copper and other critical minerals for the energy transition, is seeking to leverage this resource advantage to develop domestic mineral processing capacity and capture a larger share of revenue from mining operations.

The decree, signed on June 29 by Mines Minister Louis Kabamba Watum, Foreign Trade Minister Julien Paluku Kahongya, and Economy Minister Daniel Mukoko Samba, explicitly states that "the export of copper and cobalt concentrates is prohibited."

The decree states the ban takes effect immediately; however, in special circumstances of strategic significance, companies may apply for a one-year export exemption, though the document provides no further details. The decree also introduces a new taxation regime for economically valuable mining by-products, with a three-month transition period.

Ivanhoe Mines said in a statement released Thursday on LSEG that its Kamoa-Kakula copper complex, a joint venture with China's Zijin Mining and the Congolese government, has received multiple exemptions since production began in 2021, allowing it to export copper concentrates.

"Currently, copper concentrate produced at Kamoa-Kakula is smelted either at the on-site smelter in Kolwezi or at the Lualaba copper smelter. In addition, the Kipushi mine has been granted a permit to export zinc concentrate from the mine," the company said.

DR Congo Pushes for Domestic Mineral Processing

The decree states that the export ban is intended to "encourage mining companies to sell or export high-value-added finished mineral products."

The DRC previously imposed export restrictions on copper and cobalt concentrates in 2013, 2019, and 2023, issuing exemption permits to accommodate insufficient domestic smelting capacity.

The latest decree repeals the 2023 decree and its related exemption provisions, replacing them with a broader set of new regulations that uniformly govern mineral export management and taxation of high-value mining by-products. Most of the DRC's copper is exported in refined metal form. Official data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, the DRC exported 696,725 tons of cathode copper, while copper concentrate exports totaled 53,926 tons, containing 18,863 tons of copper metal.

During the same period, the DRC also exported 51,940 tons of cobalt hydroxide, containing 17,054 tons of cobalt metal.

Christian-Geraud Neema, a mining analyst at the non-profit China-Global South Project, said the latest ban is unlikely to have a severe impact on most operators, as most of the DRC's copper and cobalt are already refined domestically.

He said Kamoa-Kakula could be the most affected, as the mine still exports some concentrate under exemption conditions. Zijin Mining did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Congolese Chamber of Mines also did not respond.

The new taxation regime covers a wide range of minerals, stipulating that taxes on mining by-products apply to trace and ultra-trace minerals recovered during the refining process, using a 55% valuation coefficient, with royalties levied alongside those for the primary mineral.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Geology, Mining, and Metallurgy Mineral Storage and Transportation Engineering

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