Congo’s cobalt and copper production jumped in 2020, central bank says

The Democratic Republic of Congo produced 85,855 tonnes of cobalt in 2020, up 10% from 2019, the central bank said on Wednesday, with copper production also jumping 11.8% year-on-year.

The world’s biggest cobalt producer and Africa’s top copper miner took a hit when prices of the battery metals plunged during the global pandemic last year, but a strong rally has helped boost output in the heavily miningreliant country.

Copper production hit 1.587 million tonnes in 2020, the central bank’s statistics showed.

Copper prices have surged to their highest in nearly a decade, while cobalt has also staged a strong recovery.

(By Hereward Holland and Helen Reid; Editing by Jan Harvey)