ERG Plans $800 Million Reboot of Idled Congo Copper-Cobalt Mine
- Comide plant targets output of 14,000 tons of cobalt a year
- Dormant mine to restart amid lower prices for battery metal
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Eurasian Resources Group plans an $800 million revamp of its dormant Comide copper and cobalt operation in Democratic Republic of Congo, as the Kazakhstan-backed miner taps demand for green-energy minerals.
Congo supplies about 70% of the world’s cobalt and is a top-three copper producer, giving the central African nation a pivotal role in the energy transition. However, the price of cobalt — a key ingredient in many batteries for electric vehicles — slumped to the lowest in almost four years in May amid booming supply and a slowdown in Chinese demand.