Congo imposes strict controls on cobalt exports; the president warns violators will be permanently banned, and London cobalt prices have surged over 11% in two days.

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Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recently warned that the government will permanently ban companies that violate the new cobalt export quota system from exporting cobalt. London cobalt futures have risen more than 11% in the past two days, currently at $38,960 per ton.

Congo accounts for about 70% of global cobalt production and suspended cobalt exports in February this year, when the price of this key metal for electric vehicle batteries had fallen to a nine-year low. As the world’s largest cobalt producer, Congo is tightening regulations to curb fraud and stabilize prices.

According to a statement released last month by the country’s mining regulatory agency ARECOMS, the export ban will be replaced by a new quota system on October 16. Mining companies will be allowed to export up to 18,125 gross tons of cobalt for the remainder of 2025, with annual caps of 96,600 gross tons in both 2026 and 2027.

According to cabinet meeting minutes obtained by the media last Friday, Tshisekedi plans to implement "severe penalties" for companies violating the quota system, including permanently revoking their eligibility to participate in Congo’s cobalt export system.

The minutes stated that only ARECOMS has the authority to issue or cancel cobalt export quotas and to decide on the specific allocation.

At Friday’s meeting, Tshisekedi said that since March, the export freeze has driven a 92% rebound in cobalt prices, calling the new system “a true lever influencing this strategic market” and a way to break free from years of “predatory strategies.”

This rectification initiative comes as conflict continues to intensify in the resource-rich eastern region of Congo, with fighting between government forces and the M23 rebel group causing thousands of deaths and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

U.S.-backed peace efforts suffered another setback last Friday as Congo and Rwanda failed to sign the Regional Economic Integration Framework agreement, which is intended to make the countries’ mining sectors more attractive to Western investors.

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