• U.S. may launch new $500M cobalt tender by end-November
  
• DRC lifts export embargo; Glencore authorized to ship 3,925 tons
  
• Global cobalt prices more than double since February, hitting $48,570/ton

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is considering launching a new fixed-price tender for $500 million worth of cobalt by the end of November, according to London-based commodity data provider Argus. This comes as an export embargo has been lifted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world's top supplier of the metal.

The DLA had initially announced a five-year tender in August but canceled it in October. The agency said at the time it first needed to resolve certain issues, including "verifying source qualification." That tender was for cobalt cathodes from three different sites, including the Norwegian Nikkelverk refinery, which is fully owned by Swiss company Glencore.

Glencore sources the majority of its upstream production from the Kamoto and Mutanda mines in the DRC. The available information does not yet confirm which suppliers will be selected for the new tender.

Glencore, which had been unable to export its cobalt from the DRC due to an embargo imposed in February, must now adhere to a quota system adopted in mid-October that replaced the embargo. Under this system, the Baar-based firm has been authorized to export 3,925 tons of cobalt from its Congolese mines for the remainder of 2025.

While awaiting further updates on the U.S. tender, DRC supply reforms have coincided with a recovery in global prices. Prices reached $48,570 per ton in London, compared to $21,000 in February.

Aurel Sèdjro Houenou