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(FILES) An FARDC (Armed Forces of the DRC) soldier stands at a frontline military position above the town of Kibirizi, controlled by the M23 rebellion, North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 14, 2024. Some 3,000-4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting the Congolese army alongside the M23 rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a report by UN experts seen by AFP on July 8, 2024. (Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET / AFP)
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has extended its ban on exports of cobalt -- intended to curb oversupply of the electric vehicle battery material -- by three months, a regulatory agency said on Saturday, 21 June 2025.
The world's top cobalt supplier imposed a four-month suspension on exports in February after prices had hit a nine-year low at just $10 a pound. The ban was due to expire on Sunday, 22 June 2025.
"The decision has been taken to extend the temporary suspension due to the continued high level of stock on the market," the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets (ARECOMS) said in a statement.
ARECOMS said it expected to announce a subsequent decision to either modify, extend or terminate the suspension before the new three-month window closes in September.
Reuters reported on Friday, 20 June 2025 that Congolese authorities were considering extending the ban as they explored how to distribute quotas for shipments of cobalt among mining companies.
A proposal to implement quotas has backing from miners including Glencore, the world's second-largest cobalt-producing company. But Glencore's position differs from that of the number one producer, China's CMOC Group, which has lobbied for the ban to be lifted.
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