The African continent, which has repeatedly imposed restrictions on mineral exports this year, has made another significant move. Overnight, the copper and cobalt markets were thrown into turmoil. On August 6, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) issued a new executive order, definitively banning the export of copper and cobalt concentrates.

Alongside this, the DRC government introduced a new tax framework, imposing levies on economically valuable mining by-products, with a taxable valuation coefficient set at 55%. This new tax structure is scheduled to take effect in three months. As the country with the highest concentration of critical mineral resources globally, the DRC holds a central strategic position in the global critical mineral supply chain.

Regarding cobalt: According to 2025 data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), the DRC has proven cobalt metal reserves of 6 million tonnes, accounting for 55% of the global total. In 2025, global mine cobalt production was approximately 310,000 tonnes, with the DRC producing 230,000 tonnes of primary cobalt, representing a 74.2% global share. It is the world's largest cobalt producer. China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. (CMOC)'s two world-class copper-cobalt mines, TFM and KFM, produced a combined 117,500 tonnes of cobalt in 2025, accounting for roughly 37% of global mine cobalt production, making it the world's largest cobalt producer with core influence over international cobalt prices.

For copper, USGS 2025 data shows that the DRC's mined copper production was 3.2 million tonnes, accounting for approximately 13.9% of the global total, making it the world's second-largest copper producer after Chile. Zijin Mining Group's Kamoa-Kakula mine produced 388,800 tonnes of copper in 2025, while CMOC's TFM and KFM mines produced a combined 741,100 tonnes of copper. These three major Chinese-owned mines account for roughly 35.3% of the DRC's copper production, forming a highly concentrated Chinese copper mining cluster.

This is not the DRC's first attempt at such controls. Historically, concentrate export restrictions were imposed in 2013, 2019, and 2023. However, due to insufficient local smelting capacity, numerous projects received exemptions, preventing a complete halt to exports. The DRC government had previously signed an executive order on June 29 banning copper and cobalt concentrate exports, but the Minister of Mines could still approve one-year export exemptions. The ultimate impact of this latest policy will largely depend on the strictness of the exemption approval process.

Nevertheless, given that major mining companies have built up local smelting capacity over the years, the latest ban is unlikely to severely impact most operators in the country. CMOC's local TFM and KFM mines are fully integrated operations encompassing mining, beneficiation, and smelting, using an electrowinning process. Their final product is indeed cathode copper. A representative from CMOC has publicly stated on social media that the company's products are cathode copper and cobalt hydroxide, not concentrates, and therefore are not affected by the ban.

The Kamoa-Kakula mine, once the DRC's largest source of copper concentrate, has now been equipped with a 500,000-tonne smelter, gradually shifting from exporting copper concentrate to exporting anode copper, and no longer shipping out large quantities of mineral powder. A representative from Zijin Mining also stated that the company's Kolwezi copper mine in the DRC produces blister copper and electrowon copper, while the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine produces anodes and blister copper, none of which fall under the prohibited category.

Huayou Cobalt, Chengtun Mining, Hanrui Cobalt, and Tengyuan Cobalt have all established hydrometallurgical processing plants in the DRC, processing raw materials locally and thus remaining unaffected by the concentrate export restrictions. However, some smaller mining companies without integrated smelting facilities will face a choice: either apply for a government exemption to continue exporting, or commission third-party smelters to process their ore into anode copper. This will lead to higher costs and compressed profit margins.

Domestic smelters will also be impacted. For instance, major Chinese smelters like Jiangxi Copper and Tongling Nonferrous Metals rely heavily on imported copper concentrate, with the DRC being a key source. A contraction in the availability of concentrate for trade will drive down smelting and processing fees, squeezing smelter profits. While they can offset this by sourcing from other regions like South America, the short-term cost pressures are real. Rising copper prices can partially offset these losses, but they are unlikely to fully compensate for the impact of lower processing fees.