From Mine to Market: How the DRC Is Building Its Global Influence in Critical Minerals

By D. Lukoji

What if the Democratic Republic of the Congo's greatest strategic advantage isn't simply the abundance of its mineral resources, but its growing ability to shape the global market?

Between cobalt export quotas, the emergence of the Manono lithium project, and the development of the Lobito Corridor, the DRC is redefining its position in the global critical minerals economy.

\

As DRC Mining Week brings together the continent's leading mining stakeholders in Lubumbashi, one thing is becoming increasingly evident: the DRC is no longer just the world's largest producer of cobalt. It is rapidly evolving into a strategic force capable of influencing global supply chains for the minerals that will power the future.

The clearest example of this transformation is cobalt. Following years of oversupply that drove prices down to approximately USD 35,000 per tonne in 2025, the Congolese government introduced an export quota system, capping annual exports at 96,600 tonnes for the 2026–2027 period. The market responded almost immediately. Cobalt prices have climbed to between USD 56,000 and USD 58,000 per tonne, representing an increase of nearly 70% in just one year. At the same time, first-quarter exports fell to approximately 48,800 tonnes, compared with 123,000 tonnes during the same period in 2025.

The message is clear: the DRC is shifting from competing on volume to competing on value.

Yet the country's ambitions extend far beyond cobalt. The Manono Lithium Project, valued at nearly USD 1 billion, has the potential to establish the DRC as one of the world's leading suppliers of battery minerals at a time when demand for electric vehicle and energy storage technologies continues to accelerate.

Supporting this transformation is the Lobito Corridor, fast becoming the Copperbelt's most strategic logistics route. Backed by international partners, the corridor is expected to significantly reduce transport costs and export times for copper, cobalt, and lithium, strengthening the DRC's competitiveness in global markets while attracting greater industrial investment across the region.

For investors and industry leaders, three trends are now impossible to ignore: the rise of Congolese mining sovereignty, intensifying geopolitical competition over critical minerals, and the gradual emergence of a regional industrial ecosystem capable of creating more value within Africa rather than exporting raw materials alone.

The conversation has therefore evolved. The question is no longer how many minerals the DRC can extract. The real opportunity lies in how much value the country can capture by 2027 as it leverages its unique position at the centre of the global energy transition.