The Democratic Republic of Congo produced 3.1 million tonnes of copper in 2024, more than Peru, and now sits second in the world behind only Chile. It also spent most of 2025 refusing to export the other metal it dominates: cobalt shipments were suspended from February, and when they resumed in mid-October it was under strict quotas. The price response was immediate. Cobalt hydroxide that traded at 5.65 dollars a pound before the ban was near 26 dollars by April 2026.
Both facts describe the same country learning to use market power, the continental trend unpacked in our state of African mining review. For anyone doing business in Congolese mining, the question is no longer whether the DRC matters, but which of a small set of giant operators to follow, and what Kinshasa does next.
Who are the biggest mining companies in the DRC?
Three groups dominate. China’s CMOC owns Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu, which make it the world’s largest cobalt producer and a top-tier copper name. Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin run Kamoa-Kakula, the world’s third-largest copper complex. Glencore operates Kamoto and Mutanda. State miner Gecamines holds minority stakes across all of them.
The scale is worth spelling out. CMOC produced about 741,000 tonnes of Congolese copper in 2025, up 14 percent, and 114,165 tonnes of cobalt in 2024, more than double its prior year and enough to take the global cobalt crown from Glencore. It is not finished: a 1.08 billion dollar Phase 2 at Kisanfu, announced in October 2025, adds roughly 100,000 tonnes of copper capacity by 2027, part of a stated march toward 800,000 to a million tonnes of capacity by 2028.
What is Kamoa-Kakula and why did its output fall?
Kamoa-Kakula is the copper complex owned 39.6 percent each by Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin, with the DRC state holding 20 percent. It produced a record 437,061 tonnes in 2024, then seismic activity and flooding shut the Kakula underground mine in May 2025, forcing guidance down by more than a quarter.
The recovery was quicker than feared: 388,838 tonnes for 2025, within revised guidance, with dewatering complete and mining restarted on the eastern side ahead of schedule. Guidance for 2026 is 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes, rising to 500,000 to 540,000 in 2027. Meanwhile the complex commissioned Africa’s largest direct-to-blister copper smelter, 500,000 tonnes a year of capacity, casting its first 99.7 percent pure anode in December 2025. A side effect suppliers noticed: the smelter produces sulphuric acid in a region so short of it that spot prices in Kolwezi touched 700 dollars a tonne after Zambia restricted acid exports in September 2025.
What happened to DRC cobalt exports?
Kinshasa suspended cobalt exports in February 2025 after prices hit a nine-year low, extended the ban twice, then replaced it with quotas from 16 October 2025: 18,125 tonnes for the rest of 2025 and 96,600 tonnes a year for 2026 and 2027, administered by the regulator ARECOMS. Producers responded by prioritising copper and stockpiling above-quota cobalt in-country. Glencore, for one, mined 33,500 tonnes of cobalt in 2025, down 5 percent by choice, alongside 247,800 tonnes of copper from KCC and Mutanda combined.
Is American capital really entering Congolese mining?
Yes, and quickly. In February 2026 Glencore signed a non-binding memorandum to sell 40 percent of its DRC assets to the US-backed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium, a deal implying around 9 billion dollars of combined enterprise value, with Glencore staying operator. Gecamines exercised rights to buy 100,000 tonnes of Tenke Fungurume’s 2026 copper for sale into the United States, and formed a trading venture with Mercuria backed by the US Development Finance Corporation. Washington’s critical-minerals push has moved from communiques to term sheets, and it is colliding with a decade of Chinese consolidation on the same ground.
The rest of the field
- Ivanhoe’s Kipushi: the revived zinc mine set a record 203,168 tonnes in 2025, with 2026 guidance of 240,000 to 290,000 tonnes.
- ERG: Metalkol reprocesses historic tailings for copper cathode and cobalt hydroxide. The group publishes no production figures, a disclosure gap worth remembering when sizing this market.
- MMG Kinsevere: 52,791 tonnes of cathode in 2025, guiding 65,000 to 75,000 for 2026. Its new cobalt plant sits suspended, a casualty of the price slump the quotas were designed to fix.
- Chemaf: the Trafigura-financed producer whose sale to China’s Norin collapsed in March 2025 after state objections. Its search for an owner, with a US-linked consortium reportedly in front, is the live test of whether Kinshasa can steer who owns what.
- Sicomines: the renegotiated minerals-for-infrastructure deal now promises up to 7 billion dollars of roadbuilding tied to copper prices, plus a 1.2 percent royalty.
What this means for suppliers and investors
Congolese procurement is concentrated: a handful of operators control expansion programs measured in billions, from Kisanfu Phase 2 to the smelter’s ramp-up and Kipushi’s growth. Acid, power, logistics and tailings capacity are the recurring bottlenecks, and each bottleneck is a market. AMIQ tracks 2,200+ mining projects across Africa with verified decision-maker contacts, DRC operations included, available through AMIQ. Continental context: copper mining in Africa and mines in Africa.
Frequently asked questions
Is the DRC the world’s second-largest copper producer?
Yes. Official DRC figures put 2024 production at 3.1 million tonnes, ahead of Peru’s roughly 2.6 million and behind Chile. Private operators drove a further rise in early 2025.
Who produces the most cobalt in the world?
CMOC, from its Congolese mines: 114,165 tonnes in 2024, more than double its 2023 output, overtaking Glencore. DRC cobalt exports are now governed by annual quotas of 96,600 tonnes for 2026 and 2027.
Who owns Kamoa-Kakula?
Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining hold 39.6 percent each, the DRC government 20 percent, and Crystal River a small residual stake. It is the world’s third-largest copper complex, with its own 500,000-tonne-a-year smelter commissioned in late 2025.
