The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has extended its temporary suspension of cobalt exports for an additional three months.
The Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances’ Markets (ARECOMS) announced the extension on Saturday, citing “the continued high level of stock on the market.”
The initial four-month suspension, which began on February 22, 2025, was implemented to address a significant oversupply in the global cobalt market, which had driven prices down to a nine-year low of $10 per pound.
The DRC, responsible for over 70% of the world’s cobalt supply, aimed to stabilize international cobalt prices, improve transparency in the supply chain, and promote domestic refining and value-added processing.
The policy has had some initial success in boosting prices, with international refined cobalt rebounding from $10/lb to $15/lb, and raw material prices surging from $6/lb to $12/lb.
However, the fundamental issue of oversupply has not been fully resolved, leading to the extension.
ARECOMS stated that a new decision regarding the export measure will be issued before the end of the extended suspension period, which could see the measure modified, prolonged, or lifted.
The extended ban is expected to further tighten global cobalt availability, potentially driving prices upward if stockpiles continue to shrink, particularly as Chinese smelter inventories are projected to reach critical levels by August-September 2025.
This has created divergent views among major industry players, with some, like Glencore, supporting a quota-based system for future exports, while the largest producer, CMOC Group, advocates for the ban to be lifted due to concerns about market distortion and damage to long-term supply relationships.
