SMM Analysis: Impact and Outlook of DRC's Cobalt Export Suspension

[SMM Analysis: What Happened After the DRC Suspended Cobalt Exports? What’s the Outlook?]

On February 24, 2025, the world's largest cobalt supplier, the DRC, announced a four-month suspension of cobalt exports to address the prolonged low cobalt prices caused by a supply surplus in the international market. This policy took effect on February 22 and is expected to be evaluated after three months to determine whether adjustments are needed. The announcement immediately drew widespread global attention and ignited enthusiasm across the cobalt product market. According to SMM prices, as of March 14, prices of all cobalt-related products had risen significantly. Among them, cobalt sulphate, cobalt chloride, and cobalt intermediate products saw cumulative increases of over 80% within 10 days. Why did this ban attract such significant attention? First, from the perspective of cobalt resource reserves...