Producing mineDR Congo
Mutanda
Operated by Glencore
One of the world's largest cobalt-hydroxide producers, near Kolwezi; its output is subject to the DRC's ARECOMS export quotas.
Photo: Coordenação-Geral de Observação da Terra/INPE · CC BY-SA 2.0
Reference specimen · Marco Tomei, Public domain
Battery minerals
Top-10 #1Sample dataCobalt Co
Cobalt is a battery and superalloy metal, and the DRC supplies roughly 70–75% of the world's mined cobalt, almost all as a by-product of copper mining. Most DRC output leaves as cobalt hydroxide, an intermediate that is refined (mostly in China) into sulphate for batteries or metal for alloys. Since 2025 the DRC has controlled exports through the ARECOMS quota system, turning a surplus market into a managed one.
- Availability
- Export-restricted → Contract
- African sources
- DR Congo · Zambia · Madagascar · Morocco
- Traded as
- Cobalt hydroxide Co(OH)2 · Cobalt metal · Cobalt sulphate
- HS codes
- 2822.00 · 8105.20 · 2605.00
Controlled supply
This mineral is subject to export quota / ban applies. Offers are published only after ARAM has reviewed the supporting documents, and some details are visible to verified companies only.
Current offers
Verified companies only
Volumes, origins and terms are shown to verified companies. Availability for everyone else: Export-restricted → Contract. Verify your company or submit a request.
What is traded
Cobalt hydroxide Co(OH)2
Unit: dmt · HS 2822.00
the main African export; typically 25–40% Co (reference spec min 30% Co), moist filter cake in 1–1.5 t bulk bags; impurities Cu, Mn, Mg, Fe, Ca, U.
Cobalt metal (cathode/broken cathode)
Unit: dmt · HS 8105.20
≥99.8% Co ('standard grade'); a few DRC/Zambian and Moroccan (Bou Azzer) producers
Cobalt sulphate (CoSO4·7H2O, ~20.5% Co)
Unit: dmt · HS 2605.00
battery precursor; little made in Africa yet
Mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP)
Unit: dmt
Ni-Co intermediate (e.g. Madagascar's Ambatovy)
Uses
- Li-ion battery cathodes (NMC, NCA) — the majority of demand
- Superalloys for jet engines and gas turbines
- Hard metals and cutting tools
- Catalysts, pigments, magnets
ARAM sourcing assessment
High value, but you cannot move tonnage without a quota holder. The realistic model is to broker allocations from quota-holding DRC producers to non-Chinese refiners (Finland, Japan, Korea, US) seeking traceable supply. Listing status: Export-restricted → Contract.
- DR Congo
- Zambia
- Madagascar
- Morocco
Producers, mines and projects
DR Congo
Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu (CMOC — the world's largest producer), Kamoto/KCC and Mutanda (Glencore), Metalkol RTR (ERG), plus many Chinese-owned mid-tier producers; EGC (Entreprise Générale du Cobalt) — state monopoly buyer for artisanal cobalt
Zambia
Chambishi, Nkana
Madagascar
Ambatovy (Ni-Co)
Morocco
Bou Azzer (primary cobalt, Managem)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — African rows of the world production & reserves table
World Mine Production and Reserves: Significant revisions were made to the 2024 production for Australia, Congo (Kinshasa) 226,000 230,000 6,000,000 Madagascar 3,100 3,900 100,000 World total (rounded) 302,000 310,000 12,000,000
Exports reported by African countries
| Year | Country | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DR Congo | 282200 | $5.53bn | 654.8 kt |
| 2023 | DR Congo | 282200 | $4.78bn | 484.2 kt |
| 2023 | Madagascar | 8105 | $111.6m | 3.5 kt |
| 2024 | Zambia | 282200 | $80.2m | 9.4 kt |
| 2023 | Morocco | 8105 | $62.4m | 1.6 kt |
| 2024 | Morocco | 8105 | $61.6m | 2.3 kt |
| 2024 | Madagascar | 8105 | $60.0m | 2.4 kt |
| 2023 | DR Congo | 8105 | $54.1m | 16.7 kt |
| 2023 | Zambia | 282200 | $47.1m | 4.8 kt |
| 2024 | DR Congo | 8105 | $6.3m | 2.3 kt |
| 2024 | Zambia | 2605 | $368k | 96 t |
| 2023 | Zambia | 2605 | $323k | 342 t |
Imports from Africa reported by buyers
Mirror data fills gaps where exporters report late or incompletely.
| Year | Buyer | Origin | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | China | DR Congo | 8105 | $3.02bn | 628.2 kt |
| 2023 | China | DR Congo | 8105 | $2.40bn | 387.0 kt |
| 2024 | USA | Madagascar | 8105 | $47.8m | 1.7 kt |
| 2023 | Rep. of Korea | DR Congo | 8105 | $43.6m | 6.4 kt |
| 2023 | China | DR Congo | 2605 | $38.6m | 16.6 kt |
| 2023 | USA | Madagascar | 8105 | $32.9m | 925 t |
| 2024 | Rep. of Korea | DR Congo | 8105 | $27.0m | 5.9 kt |
| 2023 | Japan | Madagascar | 8105 | $25.2m | 681 t |
| 2023 | Japan | Morocco | 8105 | $16.1m | 483 t |
| 2023 | Rep. of Korea | Madagascar | 8105 | $13.9m | 460 t |
| 2024 | Japan | Madagascar | 8105 | $11.9m | 471 t |
| 2023 | Germany | Morocco | 8105 | $8.2m | 217 t |
Source: UN Comtrade (public data). Values in US$.
How it is priced
- Cobalt metal: Fastmarkets standard-grade (99.8%) cobalt price, in-warehouse Rotterdam, US$/lb; LME cobalt (thin liquidity); CME cobalt metal futures
- Hydroxide: payable % of the standard-grade metal price × Co content, CIF China (Fastmarkets / Argus 'payable indicator'); payables rose sharply under DRC quotas
- Sulphate: CIF China / China domestic (SMM)
Commercial terms
Minerals trade on formula prices: a published benchmark × metal content × payable percentage, less treatment charges and impurity penalties, settled on independent assay. Payment is typically by documentary letter of credit, with 90–95% provisional payment against shipping documents and the balance on final assay.
Request terms for CobaltAssay & quality control
- Co, Cu, Mn, Mg, Fe, U by ICP-OES; moisture (hydroxide is wet — typically 30–50% H2O); radioactivity screen (some DRC material carries uranium)
Logistics
- Road to Dar es Salaam or Durban (≈2,000–3,000 km), increasingly via the Lobito rail corridor; containerised bulk bags
- Check the SDS: hydroxide is often classed as environmentally hazardous for transport (UN3077, Class 9) and is a CMR substance (Cat. 1B carcinogen in the EU)
Export rules by country
DR Congo
Export quota
export suspension Feb–Oct 2025, then ARECOMS quotas — 2026–27 base quota 87,000 t Co/yr (7,250 t/month) + 9,600 t strategic quota; quarterly adjustment possible; exports require quota allocation
Authority: ARECOMSPrimary sourceSource
Cross-border
Levy / tax
DRC 2018 Mining Code: cobalt declared a 'strategic substance' (10% royalty)
Primary source
Cross-border
State marketing channel
EGC controls artisanal cobalt purchasing
Authority: EGCPrimary source
Compliance & due diligence
- Child labour and unsafe artisanal mining are the #1 reputational risk — buyers expect RMI Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) cobalt standard, the Cobalt Institute CIRAF framework and OECD Annex II checks
- EU Battery Regulation due diligence (cobalt is in scope)
- US UFLPA / forced-labour screening of Chinese refiners downstream
Red flags
- Artisanal material laundered into industrial supply
- Quota changes can halt exports overnight
- Fraudulent 'cobalt hydroxide SGS' offers
- Theft on the corridor
Latest findings, with sources
Cobalt hydroxide is priced as a payable % of the standard-grade cobalt metal price × Co content; reference spec min 30% Co, CIF China. DRC hydroxide typically 25–40% Co.
Source 1 · fastmarkets.comSource 2 · argusmedia.comSource 3 · cmegroup.comSource 4 · fastmarkets.com
DRC export quota regime (ARECOMS): 2026 and 2027 base quota 87,000 t Co contained in hydroxide (7,250 t/month) plus a 9,600 t 'strategic quota' held by ARECOMS; quarterly adjustment reserved. Followed the Feb–Oct 2025 export suspension.
Source 1 · fastmarkets.comSource 2 · fastmarkets.comSource 3 · spglobal.com
Market structure: hydroxide bid/offer gaps widened under quotas (Benchmark).
Research compiled September 2026 from USGS, UN Comtrade, producer and regulator publications. Facts marked “reported” come from secondary sources and should be confirmed before contracting.
On the ground · Cobalt
The mines behind the supply.
The mines and districts that define supply, with their operators. They are shown for geographic context: third-party operations, not ARAM sites, and not the source of any particular lot. Ownership and status as publicly reported in 2026.
Producing mine
Mining districtZambia
Zambian Copperbelt (Chingola, Kitwe, Mufulira)
Operated by Multiple operators
A century-old copper province: open pits and underground mines around Chingola, Kitwe and Mufulira, feeding smelters and cathode refineries.
Photo: BlueSalo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Producing mineMorocco
Bou Azzer
Operated by Managem
A rare primary cobalt (cobalt-arsenide) mine in the Anti-Atlas, producing cobalt outside the Congo.
Photo: Bernhard Holub · CC BY-SA 4.0DR Congo
No freely licensed photograph
DR Congo
Tenke Fungurume
Operated by CMOC Group
A major copper-cobalt operation in Lualaba; together with CMOC's Kisanfu it makes CMOC the world's largest cobalt producer.
DR Congo
No freely licensed photograph
DR Congo
Kolwezi mining district
Operated by Multiple operators (Glencore's KCC, state-linked and Chinese-owned producers)
The centre of the Central African Copperbelt's cobalt output, with large industrial mines and artisanal diggings side by side — the setting behind cobalt due-diligence requirements.
Reference specimens
Marco Tomei, Public domain
J. Murawski, Public domain
Nessa Eull, CC0
James St. John, CC BY 2.0
Strickja, Public domain
Fernando Brederodes, CC0
User Tor Svensson, CC BY-SA 3.0
Reference specimens of the ore minerals and products, from public collections. They illustrate the material, not a specific ARAM lot or source.
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