DR Congo · MINING
Key Facts
—Cobalt quota forfeiture: ARECOMS withdrew all unused cobalt export quotas for January to June 2026 and reassigned them to a state-controlled strategic pool on 29 June 2026.
—Annual quota volumes: From 2026 onward, annual cobalt export quotas are set at 96,600 metric tonnes, less than half of the country’s 2024 output, with a 10 percent strategic allocation.
—Global market weight: The Democratic Republic of Congo holds more than half of global cobalt reserves — about 6 million of the world’s 11 million tonnes — and produces roughly 70 to 80 percent of the world’s supply.
