Central Africa
How Congo’s copper and cobalt production changed from 2020 to 2024
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s mined cobalt output reached 226,000 tonnes of cobalt content in 2024, up from 100,000 tonnes in 2020. Copper production grew too, with a shift toward solvent extraction in the final year.
Sources checked
Estimated cobalt content in 2024 was about 28% higher than in 2023 and more than double the 2020 level.
Cobalt is reported as contained metal
The cobalt estimates combine evidence about cobalt content in several forms, including ores, concentrates and intermediate products. A tonne of concentrate may contain much less than a tonne of cobalt. The table and chart use the contained cobalt measure. Source 1
Copper mining followed two different paths
In 2024, copper in mine concentrates fell from 759,735 to 441,805 tonnes. The solvent extraction entry rose from 2.17 million to 2.55 million tonnes. Combined mined copper rose from about 2.93 million to 2.99 million tonnes, according to USGS. The increase in the second measure more than offset the decline in concentrates. Source 1
Why some refinery rows repeat mine output
The production table uses the same reported export series for mine solvent extraction and refinery leaching and electrowinning. The identical numbers can help a reader trace processing stages, but adding them would count the same copper twice. Smelting and refining rows describe other stages in the supply chain. Source 1
What changed at individual operations
USGS records changes in both provinces of the copper belt. It reports that Mashamba West in Lualaba produced about 246,000 tonnes of refined copper in 2024. At Kinsevere in Haut-Katanga, it records about 44,600 tonnes of refined copper and completion of an expansion project. Those site figures belong to the refining stage. Source 1
Production and export value answer separate questions
Metal content allows comparisons across physical product forms. Revenue depends on prices, processing, commercial terms and the timing of sales. A comparison with mining revenue or export receipts therefore needs separate data, using the same year and a consistent set of products. Source 1