ERG reports resurgence of army-backed intruders at Congo cobalt site

Soldiers and heavy machinery are back at Metalkol. Eurasian Resources Group says military-backed intruders have resumed illegal extraction at its cobalt operation near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the largest such sites on the planet. The incursion threatens to cut the mine’s operational life from nine years to three. At current commodity prices, ERG estimates that puts roughly $10 billion in future revenues at risk. What’s happening at Metalkol The intruders are affiliated with Societe Cooperative Miniere Hosanna and led by businessman Fatou Ntete Etumba. They claim authorization for riverbed remediation work. ERG sees it differently: thousands of tonnes of mineral-rich tailings are being hauled away daily using heavy machinery, including excavators and dump trucks. Metalkol sits atop more than 100 million tonnes of tailings, essentially reprocessed mining waste that still contains commercially significant concentrations of cobalt and copper. That stockpile is the mine’s entire value proposition. Removing it illegally doesn’t just steal product. It destroys the asset itself. The Congolese General Inspectorate of Mines is currently mediating the dispute betwe...