KINSHASA – Congo has banned exports of copper focus and cobalt focus in a significant escalation of its drive to power home processing and retain extra worth from its huge mineral sources, in keeping with a brand new authorities order reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.
The June 29 order, signed by Mines Minister Louis Kabamba Watum, Overseas Commerce Minister Julien Paluku Kahongya and Financial system Minister Daniel Mukoko Samba, states that “the export of copper and cobalt concentrates is prohibited.”
Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s largest cobalt producer and second-largest copper provider, additionally launched a brand new tax regime for economically vital mining by-products as a part of a broader effort to extend income from its mining sector.
The ban takes impact instantly, whereas the brand new by-product tax regime has a three-month transition interval. The mines minister could grant one-year export waivers underneath “strategic” circumstances, the order stated.
Main operators in Congo embody China’s CMOC, the world’s largest cobalt producer, Glencore, Huayou Cobalt, Zijin Mining, Ivanhoe Mines and Eurasian Assets Group.
