Congo to Enforce Artisanal Cobalt Monopoly After Export Halt

Democratic Republic of Congois starting to enforce a long-planned state monopoly to control production of hand-dug cobalt, broadening its efforts to boost prices for the battery metal by leveraging the country’s dominance over global supplies.

Entreprise Generale du Cobalt, or EGC, is now the only entity allowed to export so-called artisanal cobalt, according to new regulations signed by the prime minister and mines minister on Feb. 21. At the same time, the government also imposed a 4-month suspension on cobalt exports of any kind, in a move that could cause prices to skyrocket.

Taken together, the measures mark ...