The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has effectively paused cobalt exports after officials raised concerns about mismatched assay results for cobalt hydroxide, according to market participants.
Border staff were said to be holding back paperwork while awaiting guidance from Kinshasa on how to handle discrepancies between laboratory results submitted during export procedures.
A document seen by Argus dated 13 March has set a ±2pc tolerance for divergences between the assays issued by the Arecoms laboratory, the CEEC laboratory and the exporter's chosen private laboratory.
It also requires a reference test when the gap exceeds that threshold and introduces monthly reconciliation of assay data and quota volumes.
Exporters said the notice has left border staff hesitant to process loads until the mining minister signs an administrative instruction confirming how the new rules should be applied.
The timing comes as mining firms attempt to rebuild export flows after last year's eight-month halt and the quota regime that followed, which capped October–December shipments at 18,125t.
Prices jumped late last year as stocks outside the DRC drained and Chinese imports fell sharply, while border delays persisted into December because of paperwork backlogs and heavy rain.
Market links document to quiet export block
The document appears to show confusion inside government over why three labs return three different results on the same parcel, according to several sources.
"I heard the same," one source told Argus, referring to the reported statement from Kinshasa. "We've had no issue at our sites this morning. We're checking to see if this is for selected mines."
Another source said it was unclear whether the government slowed exports first or whether the 13 March circular was written to address a problem that had already emerged. They noted that the document allows exports to proceed when assay differences fall within a ±2pc tolerance, which "perhaps" suggests it was drafted to unblock shipments.
The same source said officials may initially have misread normal lab-to-lab variation as evidence of wrongdoing. "If you get three different parties to assay the same parcel, you will get three different results," they said, adding that authorities "automatically assumed that it was a fraud" and blocked movements.
The document now makes clear that exports can go ahead "as long as everyone is acting honestly", they said. The rally on Wuxi exchange on Tuesday suggests the market is not yet at ease.
Exporters said that once the mining minister signs the accompanying administrative notice, border staff should resume clearing trucks, but until then operators expect loads to remain parked while officials decide which assay should be treated as binding.
