DRC Bans Copper And Cobalt Concentrate Exports To Push Local Processing

Kinshasa, August 6, 2026 - The Congolese government has enacted a new mining export regime banning shipments of copper and cobalt concentrates, a major policy shift intended to force more local processing and value addition in the sector.

The measure is contained in an interministerial order signed on June 29 by Economy Minister Mukoko Samba, Mines Minister Louis Kabamba Watum and Foreign Trade Minister Julien Paluku Kahongya. It replaces rules issued on August 4, 2023, and introduces a 55% tax on the gross commercial value of "economic-interest mining by-products" - traceable or ultra-trace materials recoverable during the refining of primary minerals.

The government also set out a nine-category nomenclature for these by-products. Only mining title holders, category-B processing entities and artisanal buying houses will be authorized to export marketable products, narrowing the range of actors permitted to participate in exports.

The order provides for a one-year waiver for less-processed products where technical or economic grounds justify an exception. Companies also have a three-month transition period from the signing of the order to prepare for the new regime, although declarations of by-product quantities remain required during that period.

The policy raises compliance and investment implications for copper and cobalt operators in the DRC, where global demand for battery and energy-transition minerals has increased pressure on the state to capture more domestic value from production.