[SMM Flash] DRC Moves to Triple Lithium Royalties, Signals Broader Push for Value Capture from Critical Minerals

The Democratic Republic of Congo is reportedly moving to triple its lithium mining royalty rate, part of a wider strategy by Kinshasa to capture more value from critical minerals even as the country currently produces virtually no commercial lithium. Lithium is already classified as a strategic mineral under DRC's 2018 mining code, which set a 10% royalty rate originally targeted at cobalt and coltan.

The reported hike comes as lithium prices have roughly tripled off mid-2025 lows amid a market shift from oversupply toward deficit. DRC's exploration-stage lithium projects, concentrated mainly in Manono in the southeast, remain years from commercial output, meaning the royalty change is pre-emptive rather than tied to any near-term production ramp-up. Africa's 2024 lithium output totaled around 124,000 tonnes LCE, led by Zimbabwe and Mali. Mali's Goulamina mine has a design capacity of roughly 506,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate as it ramps toward full production.

The move reflects a broader continental push to avoid a purely extractive model: only 8% of Africa's exported critical minerals were processed on the continent in 2025, while an estimated 72% of mining profits are repatriated by Chinese and Western firms. African states captured just $5.6 billion in royalties and taxes against $41.3 billion in mineral exports.

The policy shift comes against a backdrop of rapid downstream demand growth global EV battery manufacturing capacity reached 2.4 TWh by March 2026, up 350% since 2021 and rising African supply-chain relevance, with the continent's share of global lithium and cobalt exports climbing from 18% in 2020 to 31% in 2025. The IEA projects Africa's lithium output could triple by 2030 if infrastructure and governance constraints are addressed.

SMM view: DRC's royalty move looks less like a lithium-specific policy and more like a signal of intent positioning Kinshasa to capture upside if it later attracts lithium development, while reinforcing a regional trend (alongside Zimbabwe's beneficiation controls and Mali's own fiscal terms) toward tighter state capture of mineral rents. With Washington and Beijing both competing for African supply-chain access, the real story is the reordering of who owns processing and downstream value, not this royalty rate in isolation. Worth tracking alongside Zambia's pan-African minerals exchange proposal as part of the same continental value-capture push.