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Congo gives cobalt miners until end-April to use 2025 export quotas
Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining regulator has said that miners must use all unfulfilled fourth-quarter 2025 export quotas by April 30, warning that any unused volumes after that will be forfeited and reallocated to a strategic reserve.
Quotas for the first quarter of 2026 can be shipped until June 30, alongside those for the second quarter, ARECOMS said, confirming total quotas allocated for 2026 remain valid.
ARECOMS chair, Patrick Luabeya said in a statement signed on Monday but issued on Tuesday that the measures, including the withdrawal of quotas for non‑compliance, “enter into force on March 31, 2026”.
Congo, which supplies about 70% of the world’s cobalt, imposed export quotas last year after a months-long export ban aimed at curbing global supply, a move that helped lift prices.
Congo’s mining chamber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Delayed quota shipments
Reuters previously reported that while companies resumed shipments after exports resumed, operational and logistical constraints under the new quota system slowed execution of allocated volumes.
Industry reaction was mixed.
A source at top cobalt producer CMOC said the April 30 deadline was sufficient, as the company had already loaded its entire fourth-quarter quota and had yet to start drawing on first-quarter allocations.
A source with CMOC’s trading arm IXM, meanwhile, said the extension “seems long enough, but still hard”, citing a lack of clarity in the regulator’s timeline, while a source at China’s Huayou called the decision “good news”.
The sources asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
(By Ange Kasongo, Tom Daly and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Alexander Smith)
US firm Virtus Minerals buys Congolese cobalt producer Chemaf
US firm Virtus Minerals has acquired Congolese cobalt and copper producer Chemaf, US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said on Tuesday.
Congo has been seeking to develop a minerals partnership with Washington and has drawn up a list of assets, including Chemaf’s mines, to attract US investment into a sector long dominated by Chinese firms.
“US firm Virtus’ acquisition of the Chemaf mines in the DRC is HUGE for America and for the people of the DRC,” Helberg said in a post on X.
Virtus had earlier said it had agreed to acquire Chemaf for about $30 million. Chemaf also has $200 million in unsecured debt and $700 million in secured debt.
The deal had faced opposition from the CEO and chair of state miner Gecamines, prompting Congo to remove them from their positions, Reuters reported last month.
Chemaf is privately owned, and Gecamines has no stake in it. However, the miner owns the lease to Chemaf’s mines, and any bid for control of Chemaf cannot proceed without its approval.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the deal earlier on Tuesday, said Virtus has also committed to raising about $720 million in investment.
(By Ruchika Khanna, Natalia Bueno Rebolledo and Clement Bonnerot; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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