DRC’s EGC Says It Has Purchased Around 100 Truckloads of Copper-Cobalt Ore Since Musompo Reopened

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Justice Minister Guillaume Ngefa has ordered judicial investigations into suspected mining fraud, illegal mining and mineral smuggling at several sites in Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces, local media outlet Le Point reported on November 2. A joint task force comprising Congolese police, military personnel, military magistrates and mining ministry experts previously conducted operations at several mining sites, including Menda. The operations resulted in the seizure of more than 500 trucks and other pieces of equipment, as well as several thousand tonnes of copper and cobalt. The statement did not disclose the separate volumes of copper and cobalt, the forms of the materials or the companies involved. The investigations aim to establish the facts, identify potential criminal responsibility and determine appropriate legal action. The justice minister also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating mining fraud and the illegal exploitation of natural resources to protect national sovereignty and economic interests. Separately, the Chinese Embassy in the DRC said in a safety notice dated October 31 that large-scale demonstrations around mining areas in the country’s southeastern provinces had affected transport and business operations. It also said that some Chinese mining companies had been subject to regulatory enforcement amid a mining-sector crackdown, and that the embassy had sent a working group to coordinate on site.

At the beginning of this week, refined cobalt futures on the electronic trading platform quickly hit the daily limit from around 200,000 yuan/mt, mainly driven by supply disruption rumors in the DRC and capital sentiment, while fundamentals had yet to improve. Mainstream smelters maintained quotes at 235,000 yuan/mt, while intermediate product offers eased to $11.5-12/lb, with price disagreements between buyers and sellers persisting. Low-price transactions for cobalt sulphate held at 38,000-39,000 yuan/mt, while demand for cobalt chloride and Co3O4 remained weak, keeping prices under pressure. Cobalt powder quotes dropped to 270,000-290,000 yuan/mt, and rumors of low-price deals disturbed the market. Orders for ternary cathode precursors and cathode materials were weak, prompting enterprises to cut production and control inventories, with purchases mainly driven by rigid demand. In the short term, the market remains influenced by sentiment and the supply-demand tug-of-war, and the sustainability of the price rebound has yet to be verified. Attention should be paid to the implementation of supply news and the recovery of end-use demand.