Strategic minerals in the DRC are subject to a royalty rate of 10 percent of ex-works value. This rate was introduced by the 2018 Mining Code revision. Before 2018, minerals later designated strategic were taxed at 2 percent. The strategic minerals list currently includes cobalt, coltan, germanium, and other substances specified in ministerial regulation.
Calculation basis
The 10 percent rate applies to the ex-works value of the mineral — the declared price at the mine gate, reduced by transport and refining costs from the mine to a reference delivery point. For cobalt, which is typically sold as cobalt hydroxide to an off-take buyer, the ex-works value is the agreed purchase price less allowable deductions.
For an operation producing 20,000 tonnes of cobalt equivalent per year at a cobalt hydroxide price of $25,000 per tonne, the ex-works royalty base — before deductions — is approximately $500 million. At 10 percent, the annual royalty obligation is approximately $50 million. At the pre-2018 rate of 2 percent, it would have been approximately $10 million. The difference is material for project economics.
[Internal link: "full royalties explanation" → Pillar: DRC mining royalties, community funds and local benefit rules]
Which minerals are strategic
The ministerial decree accompanying the 2018 Code listed cobalt, germanium, and coltan as strategic substances attracting the 10 percent rate. The mechanism allows the designation list to be amended by regulation without requiring a full Code amendment, giving the government flexibility to add or remove minerals as market and policy conditions change. Investors should monitor regulatory announcements from the Ministry of Mines for changes to the designation list.
[Internal link: "mining code explained" → Pillar: DRC mining code explained for investors and operators]
