Artisanal miners worked the area until 2000, when the Ruashi-Etoile concession, located in the DRC’s Katanga province, was divided and offered to private investors.Ĭhemaf, which is owned by Shalina Resources, is also constructing a processing plant to produce up to 16,000 tonnes of cobalt at its Mutoshi mine in Katanga province. In 2003, private company Chemaf was granted the mining rights to Etoile, which produces copper and cobalt oxides and sulfates. The company is involved in ending child labor in the DRC’s mining industry. The goal is to reduce local pollution by relocating legacy tailings to a responsibly managed facility.ĮRG has committed to the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process, part of the Responsible Minerals Initiative. This includes the existing Kingamyambo tailings deposit and those in the Musonoi River.

Metalkol RTR reprocesses historical cobalt-copper tailings that were accumulated over decades of mining by previous operators. The Metalkol RTR hydrometallurgical cobalt and copper facility, which is located in the DRC’s Haut-Katanga province, is operated by Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) Africa. In addition to its cobalt output, the mine is the DRC’s largest copper producer. Production in 2020 fell by more than 650 tonnes from 2019 levels. Tenke Fungurume has been struggling to meet production targets due to falling metal prices combined with higher taxes and royalties in the African country. Tenke Fungurume, located in the DRC’s Lualaba province, is 80 percent owned by China Molybdenum (OTC Pink: CMCLF,SHA:603993) and 20 percent owned by state mining company Gecamines. In early 2021, Glencore inked a five year supply contract for cobalt hydroxide from Kamoto with cobalt refiner First Cobalt (TSXV: FCC,OTCQX:FTSSF). Production at Kamoto has been incrementally increasing since commercial operations first began in 2007. Katanga’s cobalt production was up 40 percent in 2020 over the previous year.

Cmcl cobalt mines