Official order bans copper and cobalt exports from Congo

According to a recent?government order, the Congo has banned the export of copper concentrate and a cobalt concentration in an effort to increase domestic processing of its mineral resources and retain more value.

The order signed on June 29, by Mines Minister Louis Kabamba Watum and Foreign Trade Minister Julien Paluku Kahongya, as well as Economy Minister Daniel Mukoko Samba states that the export of copper-cobalt concentrates are prohibited.

As part of an effort to increase revenue from the mining sector, Democratic Republic of Congo - the world's second largest copper supplier and third-largest cobalt producer - has also introduced a?tax regime on economically significant mining products.

The new by-product tax system has a transition period of three months. The order stated that the?mines Minister may grant export?waivers of up to one year in "strategic circumstances".

The major players in Congo are China's CMOC - the world's largest producer of cobalt - Glencore, Huayou Cobalt, Zijin 'Mining', Ivanhoe Mines, and Eurasian Resources Group.

(source: Reuters)