The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has announced the launch of an audit and investigation campaign to verify reports regarding the presence of uranium among the country’s cobalt exports. This follows the release of a report and journalistic investigation that raised questions about the potential export of quantities of uranium as a byproduct of cobalt mining operations.
Kinshasa’s move came after a report published on July 30 in “Nature Communications,” which formed the basis for a journalistic investigation conducted by a local source in collaboration with two international newspapers.
The investigation revealed data suggesting the possible export of large quantities of uranium from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a byproduct of cobalt mining, at a time when the country is one of the leading producers of cobalt in the world.
One of the prominent cobalt production areas in the country is the Tenke Fungurume mine, located in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is one of the largest cobalt mines globally.
In a statement from the Congolese Ministry of Communications, the government acknowledged that it had reviewed the results of the study published in “Nature Communications,” but emphasized that there are “methodological limitations” in the report. It noted that the results alone are insufficient to prove the existence of secret uranium exports.
The ministry clarified that the report is based on modeling operations rather than direct measurements of shipments exported from the country. The government asserted that “the analysis of the mineral composition of our marketable mineral exports does not confirm the trends presented” in the study, indicating that Kinshasa does not consider the published results as conclusive evidence of uranium being exported within cobalt shipments.
Despite its reservations about the methodology used in the report, the Congolese government announced a series of measures to independently verify the information contained in the report and the journalistic investigation.
The roadmap announced by Kinshasa includes launching an independent analytical verification campaign of the mineral export composition to determine whether cobalt shipments indeed contain undisclosed levels of uranium.
The government also decided to form a joint inter-ministerial task force to assess the potential risks associated with this issue, particularly the health and environmental risks that may arise from the presence of uranium in mining operations or in the mineral materials being exported abroad.
The task force is expected to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the available data, with a report on the findings to be prepared within 60 days. In its efforts to obtain specialized technical support, Kinshasa also announced that it has requested a technical support mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency to assist in verification, analysis, and assessment of the aspects related to uranium and potential health and environmental risks.
A previous investigation conducted by a local source and published in collaboration with several international media outlets raised the issue after discussing the export of large quantities of uranium as a byproduct of cobalt extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The media organization later announced the commencement of the second phase of the investigation, indicating that the search for the export pathways of Congolese minerals and the entities associated with them is ongoing.
In a related context, the Chinese mining group CMOC, which was mentioned in the investigation, denied the allegations against it regarding exceeding uranium limits at its Tenke Fungurume site in the Lualaba province.
This denial came six days before the Congolese government announced the new verification campaign, as the company rejected the allegations concerning violations of uranium levels at the site.
These developments come at a time when the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a key player in the global cobalt market, a strategic mineral used in technology and battery industries, making any information regarding the presence of radioactive materials in mining and export operations of increasing international concern.