Recycling

tracked under Minerals ▸ Refining & processing tech

state of play · Minerals

The DRC government reinstated a ban on copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate exports on August 6, sending copper to an all-time price record and compounding a simultaneously reported sulfuric acid supply collapse affecting smelter operations. The DRC holds approximately 70% of global cobalt reserves; CMOC, the world's largest cobalt producer, operates primarily there. The ban follows the 2026 DRC cobalt quota imposed earlier this year and is a reinstatement of an earlier restriction rather than a novel policy. Chinese smelters dependent on DRC concentrate face immediate sourcing disruption; the move escalates a pattern of export nationalism following Indonesia on nickel and Zimbabwe on lithium, reshaping how processing capacity is allocated globally.

The International Energy Agency warned on July 16 that full implementation of China's rare earth export restrictions could disrupt US$6.5 trillion of downstream production outside China, the most comprehensive market-risk assessment yet of Beijing's export-control regime. China's commerce ministry launched a cash-reward programme July 1 for informants reporting illegal rare-earth exports, adding a civilian enforcement layer to an architecture already spanning the Mineral Resources Law (June 15) and a 46-firm defence-procurement ban. MP Materials and USA Rare Earth were blacklisted June 22; MOFCOM Announcement No. 26 took effect July 1. India and Japan signed the UNICORN defence-materials deal July 2, the clearest allied response so far. NdPr metal ran 160% in four months to US$137/kg before correcting; European ex-China rare earth prices are at six times domestic Chinese levels. MP Materials is producing NdFeB magnets at Fort Worth under a US$400m DoD equity stake. Battery metals: lithium nearly doubled in Q1 2026; China suspended graphite export licences until at least November 2026, covering 97% of spherical graphite. Gallium reached US$2,269/kg in the West versus US$246/kg in China. The US Trump administration announced US$3 billion in government investment across domestic and allied critical minerals projects on August 7, explicitly linking the spending to rebuilding weapons stockpiles depleted during the US-Israel war on Iran and reducing dependence on Chinese processing; CNBC framed it as a defense-necessity measure; The National placed it within a broader multipolar realignment as multiple governments diversify away from Chinese supply chains.

Watch: whether CMOC and Glencore comply with the DRC ban or seek exemptions; which specific projects receive the US$3B and in which allied countries; whether the US investment triggers matching G7 minerals commitments; cobalt and copper spot price moves after the DRC ban; whether Chinese smelters invest in DRC-based refining capacity; IEA US$6.5T figure and allied procurement timelines; CRMA permitting pace; US 45X FEOC implementation.

The industrial recovery of lithium, cobalt, and nickel from spent EV batteries, now structurally mandated by EU law and the central supply-chain bet against dependence on new primary mining.

full dossier ›

Processing chokepoints: the refining and conversion technologies that concentrate supply-chain power in critical minerals

Seven technologies, from high-pressure acid leaching to battery recycling, determine whether refined critical minerals reach EV batteries and magnets from diversified or concentrated sources.

·4 takes ·Jul 3

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt

China's most vertically integrated cobalt-to-cathode company, spanning Democratic Republic of Congo mining and Indonesian nickel HPAL to battery materials for global EV makers.

·4 takes ·Jul 3

Nickel

Hard-to-substitute transition metal driving EV batteries and stainless steel, with Indonesia controlling 60% of world mine supply and giving Jakarta decisive leverage over global manufacturing costs.

·4 takes ·Jul 3

Glencore acquired Li-Cycle, Ascend Elements filed for bankruptcy, and European recyclers raised over half a billion euros as commercial-scale battery recycling consolidated in 2026

The first EV battery recycling shakeout separated commercial-scale survivors from undercapitalised startups; Redwood Materials reached a $6 billion valuation, Germany's cylib raised €63.4 million, and EU Battery Passport compliance deadlines gave the sector a regulatory floor

Whose Money ·4 takes ·Jul 7

Huayou Cobalt signed a Hyundai MoU, joined a 20 GWh Indonesia battery JV, and partnered with tozero on European recycling

China's largest cobalt-battery materials company expanded simultaneously into Korean EV supply, Indonesian cell manufacturing, and European recycling in 2026, building a vertically integrated position from DRC mining to end-of-life battery recovery

The Quiet Shift ·6 takes ·Jul 10

The briefing, by email