DR Congo uranium exports to China under investigation, CMOC disputes claim
An investigation by Lighthouse Reports, the Financial Times and Le Monde has raised concern that uranium may have been present in cobalt shipments from the Democratic Republic of Congo to China. The reporting draws on a confidential 2024 International Atomic Energy Agency memo tied to a mining site in Katanga province. Chinese mining group CMOC, the site's majority owner, disputes the findings.
A joint investigation by Lighthouse Reports, the Financial Times and Le Monde has raised questions about whether uranium has been present in cobalt shipments leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo for China. The reporting, first carried by RFI, says the trail can be traced back to a confidential memo from the International Atomic Energy Agency obtained by reporters in 2024.
The memo reportedly concerns a mining site in Katanga province, a region long known for cobalt and copper deposits that can also contain uranium. The site examined by the investigation is majority-owned by CMOC, a Chinese mining group and one of the world's largest cobalt producers, which also has copper and uranium exploration interests nearby.
CMOC has disputed the investigation's findings, saying its shipments comply with international standards, though it has not detailed a formal rebuttal of the memo's contents. The IAEA has not publicly commented on the memo. The DRC supplies the majority of the world's cobalt, much of it destined for Chinese battery and electronics manufacturers, making any radioactive-material concerns in the supply chain a matter of regulatory interest.
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