By Sonia Rolley, Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Amy Lv
KINSHASHA (Reuters) – The Democratic Republic of Congo is weighing up an extension of its cobalt export ban by at least two months, as officials work to finalise a quota system aimed at replacing the suspension, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Mines Ministry arrived at the decision citing a need for further recovery in the cobalt price and more time to implement a quota-based framework, a senior official at the ministry said.
The Mines Ministry’s decision needs approval from the Presidency.
The Presidency and Mines Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
The current export ban, imposed in February and extended in June, is set to expire on Sunday, Sept. 21.
The ban was introduced to curb oversupply after prices of the key electric battery metal fell to a nine-year low of around $10 per pound.
Cobalt prices on COMEX were last at $16 per lb, having risen 60% since late February.
“The quota system seems to be more difficult for them to put in place,” an analyst and consultant on China-Africa relations with knowledge of the matter said.
Congo’s Mines Minister met with senior mining executives on Thursday before launching broader consultations with industry stakeholders, a mining industry source said.
The proposed quota system has support from Glencore, the world’s second-largest cobalt producer, but faces resistance from China’s CMOC Group, the top producer, which has lobbied for the ban to be lifted.
Glencore declined to comment. CMOC did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The export ban has failed to curb supplies and correct prices, said Silverado Policy Accelerator, a U.S.-based non-profit.
“It is reasonable to expect that a complete removal of the ban could lead to similar results,” it said in response to questions.
Congo, with vast reserves of lithium, coltan and gold among other metals and minerals, accounts for more than 70% of global cobalt output, much of it from artisanal miners who are largely unregulated.
The government says illegal mineral exploitation is a key driver of the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, where fighting with M23 rebels has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands.
(Reporting by Sonia Rolley and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Additional reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila Editing by Veronica Brown and Jane Merriman)
