DRC to Permanently Ban Cobalt Exporters Who Break Quotas

Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi has warned cobalt exporters who breach the country’s new quota system will face permanent exclusion, as Kinshasa moves to stabilise prices and assert control over a mineral vital to the global green energy transition.

President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has warned that cobalt exporters who violate the country’s new quota system will face permanent exclusion, in a move aimed at tightening controls on a vital global commodity.

Congo, which supplies around 70 per cent of the world’s cobalt used in electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies, introduced the system after halting exports earlier this year. The export freeze, Tshisekedi said, contributed to a 92 per cent rebound in cobalt prices since March, stabilising a market long vulnerable to fluctuations and alleged malpractice.

The new regime, due to take effect on 16 October, will impose strict shipment limits. Exporters will be permitted to ship a maximum of 18,125 metric tonnes of cobalt for the remainder of 2025, with annual caps of nearly 100,000 tonnes from 2026 onwards. The quotas will be allocated by Congo’s state minerals regulator, ARECOMS, which has been given sole authority to issue and revoke permits.

According to minutes from a cabinet meeting seen by Reuters, Tshisekedi stressed that “exemplary sanctions” would be applied to any company that breaches the quota rules, including permanent exclusion from future trading. The president described the system as a “real lever to influence this strategic market” after what he called years of “predatory strategies” by foreign operators.

The policy has divided industry giants. Swiss-based Glencore, the world’s second-largest cobalt producer, has signalled its support for the quotas, while China’s CMOC Group, the top producer, has voiced strong opposition. Market analysts say the restrictions could reshape global supply chains and strengthen Kinshasa’s bargaining power with foreign partners.

Congo’s decision comes amid continuing conflict in its mineral-rich east, where clashes between M23 rebels and government forces have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands. Analysts note that by tightening control of its resources, Kinshasa is also attempting to project greater sovereignty and economic stability despite internal turmoil.

The quota system has been framed by the government as part of a wider effort to ensure Congo derives greater value from its natural wealth. For Tshisekedi, cobalt is not simply a mineral to be extracted—it is a strategic instrument of national power, central to the country’s bid for stronger influence in the global green energy transition.