The Democratic Republic of Congo has decided to suspend exports of unprocessed cobalt and copper because they are causing the country financial losses.
The decision was signed by the Minister of Mines, Louis Kabamba Watum, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Julien Paluku, and the Minister of Economy, Daniel Mukoko Samba.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and the second-largest producer of copper.
The country has traditionally exported these minerals after only 20–30% processing.
The government says it wants to process more of the minerals domestically in order to increase the revenue generated from them.
Cobalt is a key mineral used to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, mobile phones, and other technological devices.
The growing global demand for electric vehicles has significantly increased the value of cobalt, with many countries competing to purchase the mineral.
