Congo introduced a concentrate export ban in 2013 and subsequently issued a series of moratoriums as operators faced insufficient electricity and domestic smelting capacity. A 2023 order again prohibited copper and cobalt concentrate exports while allowing one-year exemptions based on technical or economic considerations. During the first quarter, Ivanhoe said all Kamoa-Kakula concentrate was processed either at its own smelter or at the Lualaba Copper Smelter in Kolwezi. Its on-site smelter produced 62,072 tonnes of copper in anode, while the Lualaba facility produced another 2,256 tonnes in blister. The concentrate rules are also separate from Congo’s cobalt quota system, replaced a broader cobalt export suspension in October 2025 and capped exports at 96,600 tonnes annually for 2026 and 2027.