CMOC to double copper production at Congo mines to 1 million tons by 2028

The CMOC Group plans to more than double copper production over the next 4 years from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and while future demand is expected to intensify, it has set a new target for copper much higher.

Chinese producers said they aim to increase red metal production from 0.8 million tons to 1 million tons by 2028 and expand production at Tenke Funghurume and Kisanfu or KFM, the main mines in the Congo.

CMOC will produce around 0.42 million tons of copper in 2023 and is expected to increase production to around 0.57 million tons this year.

Copper and cobalt are used in green technology such as electric vehicles, and since they are key for the world government to achieve climate change goals, they are among the metals that are expected to be in strong demand in the future.

The Chinese mining company said it is embarking on the third phase expansion plan for the Tianhui Fungourmet mine, which has invested about 2.5 billion dollars so far. CMOC is also rapidly expanding its KFM mine, which began production last year.

Increased copper production means that CMOC will continue to produce more cobalt even when cobalt prices are sluggish. In mines in the Congo, cobalt, which is the key to all industries, from battery metals to the defense/aerospace industry, is produced as a by-product of copper.

The CMOC predicts that cobalt production will increase from 90,000 tons to 100,000 tons by 2028. Last year, CMOC became the world's number one cobalt mining company with a production volume of approximately 55,000 tons, but by raising this year's production forecast from 60,000 tons to 70,000 tons, there is a possibility that it will further surpass rivals including Glencore.

Congo is the world's top supplier of cobalt and is also the world's third-largest copper producer.

Nevertheless, the cobalt price of around $27,000 per ton has plummeted 70% since early May 2022.

According to Macquarie analysts, there is a possibility that the cobalt market will continue to be oversupplied by approximately 0.02 million8,000 tons and 0.02 million4000 tons this year and 2025, respectively.

“The problem with cobalt is that cobalt is mainly a by-product of copper and nickel, and its supply depends on those markets rather than on cobalt prices,” analysts said in a recent note.