Congo Eyes Deals With Cobalt Producers to Tackle Illegal Mining

A state-owned company that holds a monopoly on the purchase of hand-dug cobalt in Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking to form additional partnerships with industrial producers to control illegal mining on their sites, the head of the group said in an interview.

So-called artisanal diggers who illegally enter mining sites have been a persistent risk for the country’s big copper and cobalt miners, including CMOC Group Ltd. and Glencore Plc. Hundreds of thousands of Congolese work in the industry, often under dangerous conditions, and the sheer number of diggers has made it difficult for the government and mining companies to protect their sites.