A document issued by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo obtained by Reuters on Thursday indicates that the country has banned the export of copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate. The government is taking further measures to promote domestic processing of minerals and to retain more added value from its own mineral resources.
After Reuters reported this ban, the benchmark price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange (LME) increased by 1.8% to $14,369.50 per ton, reaching the highest level since January 29. On January 29, the copper price reached a historical high of $14,527.50 per ton. As of 9:30 GMT, the copper price was reported at $14,300 per ton.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking to leverage its status as the world’s largest supplier of cobalt and an important source for key energy transition minerals such as copper, in order to build domestic processing capabilities and retain a larger share of the mineral wealth.
This decree, signed on June 29th by Minister of Mines Louis Kabamba Wattum, Minister of Foreign Trade Julian Paku Khambuku and Minister of Economy Daniel Mkoko Sambi, prohibits the export of copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate.
The order states that the ban takes effect immediately, but for strategic reasons, one-year export exemptions may be approved, although no further details about the conditions are provided.
The decree also introduces a tax system for economicly important mining by-products, with a three-month transition period set.
The decree states that the motivation for this action is “to encourage mining operators to sell or export high-value commercial minerals products”.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo imposed bans on the export of copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate in 2013, 2019, and 2023, but granted exemptions when domestic smelting capacity was insufficient.
The latest decree abolishes the 2023 decree and its exemptions. Instead, a broader framework is introduced to regulate the export of mineral products and the taxation of mining by-products that are economically significant.
Currently, most of the copper exported from Congo (DRC) is refined copper. Official data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, the country exported 696,725 tons of cathode copper, while the export volume of copper concentrate was 53,926 tons, of which 18,863 tons contained copper metal.
During the same period, the Democratic Republic of Congo also exported 51,940 tons of cobalt hydroxide products, which contained 17,054 tons of cobalt metal.
Non-profit organization “China-Global South Project” (China-Global South Project) Mining Analyst Kristian-Rør Chr. Neumann stated that the latest ban is unlikely to significantly affect most operators as most of the copper and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have already been refined domestically.
