Metalkol's cobalt production amounts to 7% of the global total at more than 280,000 last year, according to Darton, a specialist supplier of cobalt metal products.
It was not known when exactly the _force majeure_ was invoked, but cobalt prices in China, the world's top cobalt consumer, have jumped as buyers have become increasingly worried about supplies, cobalt industry sources said.
Prices of cobalt, used to make electric vehicle batteries, as assessed by Shanghai Metals Markets (SMM) have jumped to 200,000 yuan (R498,000), up more than 20% since before DRC imposed an export ban.
The ban, announced by DRC's Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets (ARECOMS) will be reviewed in three months and could either be modified or terminated, depending on its results.
DRC's government eventually plans to introduce quotas on exports of the metal, which are going to be negotiated during the export suspension period, according to sources. China's CMOC Group is the largest cobalt producing company in the DRC, accounting for 114,165 tons last year, more than double the amount it produced in 2023.
Miner and commodity trader [Glencore](https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2022-11-02-glencore-flew-millions-in-cash-for-bribes-across-africa-in-private-jets/) is the second-largest producer in the DRC with 38,200 tons in 2024 down 8% from the previous year.
CMOC, Glencore and ERG are also the world's top three cobalt producers
**Reuters**