Congo gives cobalt miners until end-April to use 2025 export quotas

Tue, 31st Mar 2026 14:38

* Unused quotas to be forfeited, reallocated to strategic reserve

* First ⁠quarter 2026 quotas can ship until June 30

* Industry reactions mixed on April 30 deadline (Adds quotes, context, background and industry comments)

KINSHASA, March 31 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's mining regulator has ⁠said that miners must use all unfulfilled fourth-quarter 2025 ⁠export quotas by April 30, warning that any unused volumes after that will be forfeited and reallocated to a strategic reserve.

Quotas for the first quarter of 2026 can be shipped until June 30, ‌alongside those for the second quarter, ARECOMS said, confirming total quotas allocated for 2026 remain valid.

ARECOMS chair, Patrick Luabeya said in a statement signed on Monday but issued on Tuesday that the measures, including the withdrawal of quotas for non-compliance, "enter into force on March 31, 2026".

Congo, which supplies about 70% of ‌the world’s cobalt, imposed export quotas last year after a months-long export ban aimed at curbing global supply, a ‌move that helped lift prices.

Congo's mining chamber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

LOGISTICAL CONSTRAINS DELAY QUOTA SHIPMENTS

Reuters previously reported that while companies resumed shipments after exports resumed, operational and logistical constraints under the new quota system slowed execution ‌of allocated volumes.

Industry reaction was mixed.

A source at top cobalt producer CMOC said the April 30 deadline was sufficient, as the company had already loaded its entire ⁠fourth-quarter quota ⁠and had yet to start drawing on first-quarter allocations.

A ‌source with CMOC's trading arm IXM, meanwhile, said the extension "seems long enough, but still hard", citing a lack of clarity in the regulator's timeline, while a source ‌at China’s Huayou called the decision "good news".

The sources asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. (Reporting by Ange Kasongo & Tom Daly; Writing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Alexander Smith)