Congo considers extending cobalt export ban as it weighs quotas, sources say

JOHANNESBURG, June 20 (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo is considering extending a ban on exports of cobalt, as it explores how to implement quotas for shipments of the electric vehicle battery material, four sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Congo is likely to continue with the ban because the government wants more time to work out how to distribute export quotas among mining companies that produce the battery vehicle metal, said the sources, who cannot be named because the matters are confidential.

The world's top cobalt supplier in February imposed a four-month ban on cobalt exports that expires on Sunday, as it sought to curb oversupply and breathe new life into prices for the metal that had hit a nine-year low.

A proposal to implement quotas has backing from producers including Glencore , the world's second-largest cobalt-producing company. However, Glencore's position differs with that of CMOC Group , which has lobbied for the ban to be lifted.

Eurasian Resources Group, another key Congo producer, also wants the ban lifted and is eager to hear more details from the government on how the quotas on cobalt exports would be implemented, a separate source told Reuters.

The government is not fully united on extending the ban, according to Zack Hartwanger, head of commercial, Africa at Swiss-based commodity trader Open Mineral.

"Some (in government) raised concerns about revenues, employment, and informal supply chains," Hartwanger said.

"There’s tension between industrial policy goals and economic realities."

CMOC, the world's top cobalt-producing company, and Congo's Ministry of Mines did not respond to emailed questions from Reuters.

The Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets, or ARECOMS, which is responsible for implementing the cobalt export curbs, did not respond to emailed questions. CMOC is ramping up cobalt output at its two mines in Congo, where the battery material is produced as a byproduct of copper, even as demand from electric vehicles manufacturers is down as the sector's growth slows.

The market glut depressed prices to as low as $10 a pound or $22,000 a ton in February. (Reporting by Felix Njini in Johannesburg, Sonia Rolley in Kinshasa and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila in Dakar; Editing by Rod Nickel)