Kinshasa to Reassesses Cobalt Export Ban, Minister States

The Democratic Republic of Congo is weighing whether to keep in place a four-month suspension of cobalt exports imposed in February, a move that has already jolted global metals prices and sharpened scrutiny of battery-material supply chains. Mines Minister Kizito Pakabomba told a cobalt-industry forum in Singapore on Wednesday that the ban is “under review,” but he offered no timetable for a decision.
The Cobalt Institute, in a report released the same day as Mr. Pakabomba’s remarks, projects the market will tip back into deficit early in the next decade as EV demand accelerates, trimming Congo’s share of global supply to 65 % by 2030 even as Indonesian output rises to 22 %.
That prospect has emboldened Kinshasa to use export controls as a price-management tool, say traders who note that the country briefly imposed a similar ban in 2019.