The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will confiscate unused cobalt export rights from mining companies and transfer them to a government-controlled reserve under tougher new rules aimed at strengthening state control over the global battery metal market, according to a regulatory notice seen by Reuters.
The directive, issued by the country’s strategic minerals regulator, ARECOMS, states that any export quotas allocated for the first half of 2026 but left unused by June 30 will automatically expire and be reassigned to the regulator’s “strategic quota”, giving the government greater discretion over how those volumes are allocated.
The decision marks the latest step in Kinshasa’s efforts to exert greater influence over cobalt supplies after intervening in the market earlier to curb a prolonged oversupply that had driven prices to multi-year lows.
Under the new rules, mining companies will not be allowed to carry unused quotas into the next allocation period. Instead, the forfeited volumes will be deducted from their original allocations and redirected towards projects considered to be of national interest.
ARECOMS said those projects would include initiatives that expand domestic mineral processing, increase value addition and protect the country’s long-term economic interests.
