DRC Bans Copper Exports Amid Record Prices and Acid Crunch

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has banned all copper and cobalt concentrate exports, effective immediately. The move is part of a resource nationalism strategy aimed at capturing value within the country's borders. Copper prices have hit an all-time record high on the Comex at $6.7045 per pound ($14,781 per metric ton), following the news.

The DRC produces approximately 3.3 million metric tons (about 7.3 billion pounds) of copper and is the source of around 70% of global mined cobalt. The export ban will affect major operators such as China's CMOC, Glencore, Huayou Cobalt, Zijin Mining, Ivanhoe Mines, and Eurasian Resources Group.

The DRC has introduced a by-product tax regime, with a three-month transition window, and Mines Minister Louis Kabamba Watum retains authority to grant one-year export waivers under 'strategic' circumstances. However, the country's calculus is that at record copper prices, it is economically attractive for miners to invest in smelting capacity within the country.

The mechanism behind this move is similar to Indonesia's ban on raw nickel ore exports in 2020. Within a year of the ban, Chinese companies committed $30 billion in smelter investment inside Indonesia, shifting value from raw material export to processed intermediate products.