On Wednesday, several mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) received orders to ban the export of copper and cobalt concentrate, information service FastMarkets reported.
FastMarkets checked with three companies operating copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), all of which have received orders signed by Bernard Bosele Pilipilithe, head of Katanga Customs and Inland Revenue.
The order did not mention an effective date, but trucks carrying copper and cobalt concentrates could still cross the border, the sources said.
Not long ago, Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), visited Huakon Mining in Koluwezi.
It is reported that Tszydik expressed concern about the partnership with Chinese friends and will further strengthen the mutually beneficial cooperation with Chinese enterprises.
He said that I had a phone conversation with Chinese leaders not long ago and I have no doubt about China's willingness to support the development of the DRC.
Koluwezi is home to about 40 international mining companies, about 30 of which are Chinese.
On the same day, Mr Tsisedyk also visited the Kumamoto copper mine owned by Glencore.
But in front of the local public, Mr Tsidik said he wanted to restructure contracts with foreign mining companies, according to the South China Morning Post.
He said his predecessor had signed one-sided contracts with mining companies that deprived the Congolese people, many of whom live in poverty, of their fair share of the benefits from the sale of the country's minerals.
Foreign investors "came in with no money and left with billionaires", he said, hoping for a renegotiation. "I'm really fed up. I'm very tough on these investors who come in to get rich...
It is time for the state to recaliperate its contracts with mining companies and create a win-win partnership."
The order came a day after the Kamoa-Kakula I mine, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, officially started copper concentrate production at 3.8m tonnes of year I ore, months ahead of schedule.
Commenting on the importance of the project's official start of copper concentrate production, Mr Tshisekedi said: "The start of copper concentrate production at Kamoa-Kakura shows that the DRC is open for business and investment.
We congratulate Ivanhoe Mines on achieving an important milestone in this world class mineral discovery."
Congo has banned the export of copper and cobalt concentrates before, but many miners were soon exempted by applying for special export licences.
It remains to be seen how much impact the ban will have on Chinese mining companies.
