• Copper exports fall 17.3% in first nine months of 2025 in the DRC

• Second-quarter shipments slump sharply, raising growth slowdown concerns

• Kamoa-Kakula disruptions weigh on output despite other mines’ stability

Democratic Republic of Congo's copper exports fell 17.3% year-on-year to 1.91 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2025, from 2.31 million tonnes in the same period of 2024, according to figures from the Ministry of Mines’ Technical Unit for Mining Coordination and Planning.

The unit did not give reasons for the quarterly or annual decline, nor did it specify which mines were responsible, raising the prospect of an end to several years of growth in Congolese copper sales. Congo exported 3.10 million tonnes in 2024, up from 2.83 million tonnes in 2023 and 2.39 million tonnes in 2022.

Exports were about 757,000 tonnes in both the first and third quarters but fell to just 401,160 tonnes in the second quarter.

The country’s largest mine, the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex, has faced operational constraints this year. After a seismic incident in May suspended some activities, operator Ivanhoe Mines lowered its production forecast. The Canadian company, which controls 39.6% of the complex, said Kamoa-Kakula is expected to deliver no more than 420,000 tonnes in 2025, down from a previous forecast range of 520,000 to 580,000 tonnes.

Kamoa-Kakula is not the only asset underpinning Congo’s copper production growth in recent years. In 2026, the country can also rely on mines including Glencore’s KCC and Mutanda, whose combined copper production remained stable at 154,000 tonnes in the first three quarters of 2025, as well as Chinese CMOC’s Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu mines.

Emiliano Tossou