ERG Cuts Cobalt Output in Congo After Export Restrictions
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Eurasian Resources Group has sharply reduced cobalt hydroxide production in the Democratic Republic of Congo after export restrictions were introduced, Orda.kz reports, citing Reuters.
In 2025, ERG cut production from 19,000 tons to 5,700 tons. This happened after Congo imposed an export ban at the beginning of the year and later replaced it with a quota regime. The country was facing cobalt oversupply and a collapse in prices. The authorities also created a strategic reserve of the metal.
In 2026, ERG expects to double cobalt production compared with last year. The company’s export quota amounts to 12,325 tons of cobalt metal, including the unused balance from the fourth quarter of 2025. Even so, that remains far below previous volumes.
Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a key component in electric vehicle batteries. In the first quarter of 2026, the country shipped 48,800 tons of cobalt, almost three times less than in the same period a year earlier, when exporters rushed to send shipments before the ban took effect.
In Congo, ERG competes with China’s CMOC and Switzerland’s Glencore, the world’s largest cobalt producers.
Kazakhstan’s Finance Ministry owns 40% of ERG. The group’s Central Asian business — ferrochrome, aluminum and iron ore production — generates most of its profit. The African segment accounted for 24% of ERG’s $2.1 billion EBITDA last year, and its share increased due to cost optimization and higher output.
Original author: Ruslan Loginov
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