The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) issued an order to mining companies on Wednesday banning exports of copper and cobalt concentrate, FastMarkets reports.
FastMarkets said it had confirmed to three companies operating copper and cobalt mines in the DRC that they had all received notices signed by Bernard Bosele Pilipilii, head of Katanga customs.
At present, trucks carrying copper and cobalt concentrate can still pass through the border and the effective date of the order has not been mentioned, the sources said.
The export ban came in the same week that Ivanhoe Mines announced the start of copper concentrate production at its Kamoa-Kakula project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, several months ahead of schedule, as copper and cobalt prices continued to trade near record highs.
Kakula, the first planned mine in the concession, was initially expected to produce 3.8m tonnes of ore a year during its first five years of operation, with an average grade of "well over 6 per cent", the company said.
