By: Reuters

Eurasian Resources Group said on Monday it cut cobalt hydroxide production in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2025 due to an export ban and quota system and plans only a partial recovery this year.

DRC, the world's largest producer of cobalt, a critical component of electric vehicle batteries, imposed a months-long export ban early in 2025 before moving to a quota regime, as the country faced oversupply and a price slump OCBc1. It also established a strategic reserve for cobalt.

ERG deliberately reduced cobalt hydroxide output by 70%, to 5,700 metric tons in 2025 from 19,000 tons in 2024. The Luxembourg-headquartered group told Reuters it plans to double cobalt production in 2026 from 2025.

ERG's share of DRC's export quota for 2026 is 12,325 tons of cobalt metal including the unused part from the fourth quarter of 2025. It competes with miners including China's CMOC 603993.SS and Glencore GLEN.L, the world's top producers of cobalt, in DRC.

Access World data shows Congo shipped 48,800 metric tons of cobalt in the first quarter of this year, compared with 123,000 tons in the same period in 2025, when exports were frontloaded ahead of the export ban.

ERG, in which the Kazakh government owns a 40% stake, produces ferrochrome, aluminium and iron ore in Kazakhstan with its Central Asian business making up most of its core earnings.

Its African business, dominated by copper and cobalt production in DRC, accounted for 24% of ERG's $2.1 billion EBITDA last year, expanding its contribution due to cost optimisation and higher production.

In DRC, its saleable copper concentrate production rose 25% to 47,600 tons in 2025 with an open-pit expansion project at the Frontier mine.

ERG's total copper production is expected to rise this year by 9% to 162,000 tons.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Alexander Smith)