African Continent's Key Minerals: After Six Years of Delays, the Congolese State Cobalt Company Begins Operations

In November 2019, the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced plans to establish a new state-owned mining company aimed at bringing artisanal cobalt mining into the formal system. However, due to institutional barriers and operational setbacks, the company failed to establish the expected monopoly.

This week, the Congolese state-owned mining company - the Congolese Cobalt General Enterprise (Entreprise Générale du Cobalt, EGC) announced that it had produced the first 1,000 tons of traceable cobalt, all sourced from artisanal mines. This production is significant for the company, established in November 2019. The company has a monopoly granted by the state to purchase and export all cobalt mined by artisanal miners in the country.

The start of production of the first batch of cobalt marks a long-awaited achievement for EGC after nearly six years of delays, institutional gridlock, and operational obstacles. The monopoly initially announced when the company was founded became entangled in administrative disputes, and due to the lack of assigned artisanal mines for the company, the monopoly could not be enforced. One key obstacle was the conflict with China's CATL over the ownership of the Kasulo mine. Additionally, the lack of safe designated cooperative mining areas, the inability of EGC to purchase ore from miners, and the absence of enforceable responsible sourcing standards exacerbated the company's difficulties.

It was only in 2024 that the state-owned mining group Gécamines allocated five new mining areas to EGC, which improved the company's prospects. In February 2025, the government suspended all artisanal cobalt exports nationwide, which led to an increase in cobalt mining activity. The ban was initially intended to reduce global cobalt oversupply and support weak prices. Moreover, the ban gave EGC a decisive advantage, making it the only entity authorized to export artisanal cobalt.

It is estimated that between 1.5 million and 2 million people are engaged in artisanal cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and historically, artisanal cobalt accounted for 15% to 30% of the country's total cobalt production. However, in recent months, this percentage has dropped sharply due to falling prices, according to the Cobalt Association, accounting for only 2% of national production last year. The impact of EGC's expanding operations on the industry's output and the working and living conditions of artisanal miners remains unclear, as many artisanal miners struggle to obtain stable income from this activity.

Sources: ecofinagency

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848902585313546/

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