LAGOS – Major cobalt producers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) risk losing 20,000 metric tons of exports worth $1.1 billion due to a technical breakdown in the state customs platform.
The crisis stems from an administrative failure regarding ARECOMS, the strategic minerals regulator. Producers cannot register mandatory export declarations, as the customs platform lacks formal authorization to process shipments since July 1.
International companies including Glencore, CMOC, ERG, and Huayou Cobalt face a strict July 5 deadline to utilize their first-half quotas. Any unused volume is scheduled for immediate withdrawal and potential reallocation by regulators.
Cobalt is essential for the global energy transition, serving as a critical component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones, and renewable energy storage systems. Supply disruptions threaten these massive downstream industries.
CMOC has warned that failing to resolve the glitch could wipe out its entire second-quarter export quota. Industry executives are urgently appealing to the Prime Minister for an immediate, one-month deadline extension.
This standoff occurs as the DRC enforces a 96,600-metric-ton annual cap to stabilize global prices. Since early 2025, those prices have rebounded by roughly 160%, making supply control a central government priority.
The DRC currently provides approximately 70% of the world’s cobalt. Analysts argue that this bottleneck illustrates the fragility of the country’s aggressive supply-management framework when faced with internal bureaucratic inefficiencies.
Neither ARECOMS nor the Ministry of Mines has commented on the deadlock. As the July 5 cutoff passes, producers remain unable to move product, threatening both corporate revenue and global market stability
