Chinese mining group MMG has hit the brakes on a cobalt processing plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid slowing demand for the metal and lower prices
Cobalt, a key battery metal used in the production of electric vehicles (EVs), is one of the DRC’s major exports.
The move comes a mere 15 months after the opening of the processing plant at the Kinsevere mine site in the Haut-Katanga province, about 30 km from Lubumbashi in the south of the DRC.
MMG, which is majority-owned by China Minmetals Corporation, halted operations at the new plant in December last year, Bloomberg reported, citing “unfavourable cobalt market conditions.”
In February 2025, DRC officials also temporarily banned cobalt exports for a period of at least four months due to excess supply.
The price of cobalt has slumped to near historic lows in recent months as a result of the supply glut and as motorists turn their backs on EVs, undermining demand for the metal, which is also used in mobile phones.
The project at Kinsevere, intended to boost copper output from the mine as well as commence cobalt production, is estimated to have cost around US$600mn.
MMG began the commissioning of the the cobalt processing plant in September 2023, but the facility was placed in so-called ‘care and maintenance’ by the end of last year, the company said when reporting its 2024 annual results on 5 March, according to Bloomberg.
The firm said it had “implemented a flexible production strategy” in deciding when to resume cobalt operations that will be “based on prices,” an MMG spokesperson said in an email statement cited by Bloomberg.
The company sold 1,600 tons of cobalt in 2024, according to the statement.
Its production guidance for Kinsevere in 2025 is between 63,000 to 69,000 tonnes of copper cathode, MMG reported, the highest level form the mine in about a decade, reflecting the expansion programme at the site.
MMG’s chairman Xu Jiqing, said in his results presentation that the Kinsevere Expansion Project achieved mechanical completion on 15 September 2024 and that the current focus is on ramping up the concentrator and roasting systems to further increase copper cathode output.
The expansion will also extend Kinsevere's mine life to at least 2035, he noted.
Higher earnings from improved copper sales and prices, however, were partially offset by the costs associated with the newly added processing plant.
A US$53mn impairment was recognised in the depreciation and amortisation expenses, reflecting a weakened cobalt outlook, he added.
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MMG places Kinsevere cobalt plant on ice
Kinsevere open pit mine DRC. (Image source: MMG)
