Democratic Republic of Congo creates strategic cobalt reserve to manage exports, stabilize prices, and tighten control over global critical minerals supply
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has established a strategic reserve for cobalt and other critical minerals, according to the country’s minerals regulator, in a move designed to strengthen state control over exports and influence global supply dynamics.
Under a cabinet decree adopted on April 10, oversight of the reserve has been assigned to the regulatory authority ARECOMS, which is now empowered to acquire, hold, and commercialize strategic mineral resources. The agency confirmed the development in an official statement on Thursday.
The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a key material used in electric vehicle batteries and accounted for approximately 70% of global supply last year.
The country has increasingly tightened control over the sector amid volatile prices and oversupply concerns.
Earlier in the year, the government imposed a temporary export ban on cobalt before shifting to a quota-based system in October.
The policy was introduced to address a sharp decline in prices driven by global oversupply.
Cobalt exports from the DRC totaled around 48,800 metric tons in the first quarter of this year, significantly lower than the approximately 123,000 tons exported during the same period last year, when miners accelerated shipments ahead of the export freeze.
Under the current quota system, the government reserves 10% of national cobalt export volumes for strategic use. For 2026, this allocation is estimated at around 9,600 metric tons.
In March, authorities also warned mining companies that unused export quotas would be reassigned to the state.
Firms that fail to ship their allocated volumes within specified deadlines covering the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 risk forfeiting them to the strategic reserve.
The newly established reserve will serve as the central mechanism for managing these allocations and intervening in the market when necessary.
Major global mining companies operating in the DRC include China’s CMOC Group, Glencore, Eurasian Resources Group, Huayou Cobalt, and the Chinese-backed Sicomines joint venture.
According to ARECOMS, the strategic reserve provides the state with an additional policy tool to stabilize the cobalt market and support price recovery by managing supply more actively.
Officials stated that the mechanism will allow the government to “intervene in a targeted manner regarding the quantities of strategic mineral substances available in order to maintain the balance of the international market and strengthen economic sovereignty.”
Cobalt, along with coltan and germanium, was designated as a strategic mineral under a 2018 decree, placing its production and export under heightened state oversight.
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