Congo’s Copper Mining Unaffected by Middle East Crisis, Exports Grow
According to Grace Mabaya, a Mining Ministry senior official in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the production of cobalt and copper is unlikely to face adverse effects this year despite the ongoing unrest in the Middle East. The Middle East supplies many key mining inputs, such as sulfuric acid, and a number of metal producers have faced shortages that have triggered production cuts. However, Congo appears to be faring better. The war between the U.S. and Iran that started at the end of February disrupted supply chains of sulfuric acid, a crucial input during the production of cobalt and copper.…