- The Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s top producer of cobalt, said on Monday it has temporarily halted the metal’s exports due to oversupply.
- The leading use of cobalt is in rechargeable battery electrodes used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
The ban will be in place for at least four months, the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances’ Markets, or ARECOMS, said in a statement. The agency said the ban is for all cobalt produced in the country, including by small scale or artisanal miners.
“This measure is intended to regulate supply on the international market, which is faced with a production glut,” ARECOMS President Patrick Luabeya said in the statement.
“The export ban of cobalt – a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones – is effective from February 22 and could either be adjusted or terminated after three months,” added Luabeya.
S&P Global reports that cobalt market oversupply is expected to ease in 2025, according to market participants, but will still be higher than in 2023, with more Chinese-origin metal coming online in the second half of the year, strong production from the Democratic Republic of Congo and ramped up high-pressure acid leaching projects in Indonesia.
The global refined cobalt surplus is forecast to be 28,000 mt in 2025, according to Commodity Insights’ November Lithium and Cobalt Commodity Briefing Service report, down from an estimated 53,000 mt surplus in 2024, but still higher than the 21,000 mt surplus of 2023.
Analysts noted in the report that DRC cobalt production growth was tapering lower as China’s CMOC Group reached the end of its capacity ramp-ups.
Over January-September 2024, CMOC’s DRC operations produced 84,722 mt of cobalt, above its 60,000-70,000 mt full-year output guidance and 127.4% higher year over year.
Commodity Insights forecast the European metal cobalt price to average $10.98/lb in 2025, down from $13.19/lb in 2024 and $16.36/lb in 2023.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
