Diversified mining and marketing company Glencore on Wednesday outlined its strategy surrounding the export of cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which follows the lifting by the DRC government of its export ban on cobalt, and the introduction of quotas on the export of this hard silvery-grey metal, which is used in several modern technologies. Imposed following the revocation of the cobalt export prohibition are export quotas totalling 87 000 t/y on contained cobalt for 2026 and 2027, and an 18 125 t quota for the remainder of 2025. In addition, the DRC government has retained a strategic quota of 9 600 t/y.
Mining major Rio Tinto has placed its Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) operations in KwaZulu-Natal, along with its Canadian iron and titanium operations and US borates mine, under strategic review as part of an operational shake-up by new CEO Simon Trott. The company on Wednesday announced a new operating structure that consolidates its activities into three business units and shifts its Borates and Iron and Titanium divisions to the portfolio of COO Alf Barrios for review.