Some of the world’s largest cobalt producers are racing to avoid losing their export quotas in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a government administrative failure prevented companies from processing shipments ahead of a key regulatory deadline.
Mining companies, including China’s CMOC, Glencore, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) and Huayou Cobalt, say they have been unable to register export declarations because of a disruption affecting the country’s customs platform, according to industry officials and a letter reviewed by Reuters.
If the issue is not resolved quickly, producers could lose as much as 20,000 metric tons of export allocations worth an estimated $1.1 billion at current cobalt prices, even though industry executives say the delays were caused by government administrative procedures rather than the companies themselves.
The development marks the first major operational challenge for Congo’s recently introduced cobalt export quota system and comes as the country seeks tighter control over the global supply of one of the world’s most important battery minerals.
Miners seek more time
