Tantalum

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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.

Rare transition metal essential to capacitors in every smartphone, server, and weapon system; over 60 percent of global supply comes from artisanal mining in conflict-affected eastern DRC.

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Conflict minerals

Tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo fund armed groups; US and EU law require importers to trace and disclose their supply chains.

·3 시각 ·7월 3일

Niobium

A transition metal of which Brazil controls roughly 90% of world supply, niobium is the critical additive in high-strength steels used globally in cars, pipelines, and construction.

·4 시각 ·7월 3일

루바야 광산 산사태로 220명이 사망하며 콩고민주공화국 탄탈럼 공급이 불안정해지고 AI 주도 커패시터 수요가 가격을 15-30% 끌어올렸다. 니오븀은 미국 광산과 영국 음극 파트너십을 확보했다

2026년 1월 28-29일 북키부주 루바야 산사태로 영세 광부 220명 이상이 사망했다. OFAC는 3월 르완다 국방군을 제재 대상으로 지정했다. 탄탈럼 커패시터 가격은 AI 서버 수요로 15-30% 올랐고, CBMM과 Echion은 연 2000톤 규모의 니오븀 음극 시설을 열었다

무엇이 무너졌는가 ·7 시각 ·7월 9일

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