Kinshasa Opens 60-Day Probe as Miners Reject Cobalt Uranium Claims

Kinshasa, DRC, August 7, 2026 - The Congolese government has initiated a 60-day investigation into allegations of uranium contamination in cobalt exports, following a report published on July 30 that claimed significant breaches of uranium thresholds in cobalt mined at Tenke Fungurume. The government’s response comes after CMOC, the operator of the Tenke Fungurume mine, rejected findings from an investigative report, asserting that their cobalt hydroxide meets both local regulations and customer specifications. CMOC emphasized that there have been no customs holds or client rejections related to their products and that their radiometric quality control measures throughout the supply chain ensure compliance with safety standards.

On August 5, the USMCC, a collective of Chinese mining interests in the DRC, also dismissed the allegations, stating that the levels of uranium present in cobalt products from southeastern DRC are naturally occurring and economically unfeasible to extract. They announced plans to publish their quality control results to further support their position. The government has noted that the natural co-mineralization of uranium in the Roan Group copper-cobalt deposits has been recognized for over a century, and that traces of uranium in cobalt concentrate only enter nuclear accounting if specifically recovered as source material.

In a statement released on August 6, the Congolese government outlined its commitment to transparency and due diligence in addressing these allegations. It announced the launch of a representative analytical campaign involving national and accredited international laboratories, including CNPRI, CGEA, and CEEC, to verify the claims made in the initial report. An interministerial working group has been established to compile a report within 60 days, focusing on the allegations, potential health and environmental risks, and necessary measures. The government is also engaging in diplomatic consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to seek technical support for the investigation, reaffirming its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and its sovereignty over natural resources.

The backdrop to this investigation includes a modeling study published in Nature Communications, which suggested that uranium contained in Congolese cobalt exports from 2000 to 2024 could theoretically be equivalent to the material needed for approximately 600 nuclear weapons or could power a 1 GW reactor for ten years if extracted and enriched. However, the IAEA has stated that there is no evidence to support claims that the DRC has breached cobalt-export safeguards, further complicating the narrative surrounding the safety and regulation of cobalt mining in the region.