Congo’s cobalt export restrictions boost prices, spur sustainable growth: EGC

The Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt export ban and subsequent quota system have been successful in both bringing fairer and more sustainable price levels and boosting global cooperation, Eric Kalala, the CEO of state-owned Entreprise Générale de Cobalt said in an interview.

"If we don't have good prices, it's also a loss for the country," Kalala said in the interview with Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

With more than 70% of the global cobalt production, the DRC has a responsibility to make sure enough of the cobalt reaches the market and the value chain is not disrupted, he said. At the same time, "our target now is to, as much as possible, do the transformation in the country," Kalala said.

In response to some views in the battery industry that restricting cobalt exports could reduce long-term demand for cobalt in cathodes, Kalala said that the DRC's aim is to make sure cobalt remains available to meet the demand from the battery sector, while at the same time ensuring the "level of price is fair" and "prosperity is shared."

EGC is the government arm responsible for buying, processing, and selling cobalt, and ensuring that cobalt is sourced responsibly and meets ethical and environmental standards.

Fostering international cooperation

The cobalt export ban in the DRC implemented in February 2025 replaced by the quota system in October 2025 were DRC's efforts to show it has control over the exploration and production of minerals in a sustainable way. It was also a push to stimulate downstream investment to produce battery metal sulphates and battery precursors in the DRC in the future. To achieve this, "we need to train people, we need to increase the logistics and also the energy."

The DRC has received significant investments from China, looking to tap into the Congolese mineral resources. Kalala did not see it as dependence on the Chinese capital, however. "They have invested in the country. So, we are happy of that."

"You will continue to see in the coming days that we will have more and more investment in the country, which means that [the cobalt export policy] is working."

He mentioned recent deals with the US and the EU as steps to foster the DRC's global cooperation.

On May 13, EGC signed MOU to supply cobalt hydroxide to the US-based metals processor EVelution Energy, with Trafigura handling supply chain logistics and marketing. The collaboration goes beyond supply discussions and also includes technology exchange and potential cross-investment opportunities.

The announcement follows the signing of a US-DRC strategic partnership earlier this year, which grants US companies the right of first offer on designated critical mineral deposits and exploration zones. In October 2025, the DRC announced it would further deepen cooperation through Global Gateway, which includes critical minerals investments.

Kalala said the DRC has addressed shipping bottlenecks and administrative delays that appeared after it announced the cobalt export quotas in October 2025. As a landlocked country, the DRC needs to ensure that the export pipeline is supported by adequate infrastructure and logistic operations to ship the material to global markets, he said.

"If you look at the current situation, it's smooth, and we fixed the bottleneck that we found. So basically, it's working well, and we can expect that the situation is going to be more and more quick," Kalala said.

Sulfur supply impacts

The quota allocations once set by ARECOMS are fixed to give clear information to the market of the expected volume and are not subject to change, Kalala said.

Any additional volumes of cobalt hydroxide can go to the strategic reserve or they can be processed in the DRC if investors want to come to the country, he said. "Congo also is a market. It's a huge market. So, some of the products can be transformed in the country and used in the country."

The strategic reserve regulated by ARECOM, which would communicate to the market how the reserve would work, he added.

Supply chain disruptions amid the Middle East war have affected the DRC but less severely than Indonesia, Kalala said. He pointed to high prices and tight supply of sulfur, which is needed for processing cobalt and copper.

In the long term, the risks posed by the Middle East may be an opportunity to boost the electric vehicles sector's recent weaker growth, particularly in the West, he said. "And maybe that crisis might create also a long-term or midterm shift to EVs, and that will be an opportunity for us."

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed European cobalt metal 99.8% mixed-use basket A IW Rotterdam May. 27 at $25.60/lb, stable day over day and week over week.

European Cobalt metal 99.8% mixed-use basket B was assessed at $26.50/lb IW Rotterdam May. 27, stable day over day and week over week.

Platts assessed European cobalt metal 99.8% alloy-use IW Rotterdam at $29.50/lb May 27, unchanged day over day and week over week.