The impact and challenges of artisanal/small-scale and large-scale cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the cobalt market

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), endowed with substantial cobalt reserves, presents a unique scenario where artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and large-scale mining (LSM) coexist. This paper by PhD candidate Jeleel Abiola Balyaminu examines the dynamics between these two mining sectors and their impact on the cobalt market. Within the context of validated thresholds, and interviews, utilised in a mixed-methodology approach, the paper explores how ASM, in comparison to LSM, affects the nature of the cobalt market and the communities involved. It also investigates the challenges posed by the duality of cobalt mining practices in the DRC, as well as their broader implications for the global cobalt market. On the one hand, through computer-aided qualitative data analysis using ATLAS. ti, divergent opinions were filtered into themes (codes), which were extracted using visualisation networks, and then disaggregated into positive and negative impacts via sentiment analysis. On the other hand, quantitative data were analysed using; independent T-test analysis, overall weighted mean value, and a one-way ANOVA. While the findings from the quantitative perspective indicate a range of benefits, the ASM and LSM alliance complicates the security and reliability of the cobalt market. Overall findings demonstrate that difficulties with supply chain traceability, increasing in-migration, speculation, conflicting interests, complications with land ownership, and a lack of international policy support for coexistence are closely interconnected challenges that complicate the coexistence of ASM and LSM in the cobalt mining operations in the DRC. Mitigating the identified challenges will facilitate the legitimate coexistence between ASM and LSM in the DRC which in turn boosts global cobalt market dynamics.

This article was published in Resources Policy, Volume 122, 2026, Elsevier, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2026.106062.