DRC probes how 5,000 tonnes of uranium ‘leaked’ into cobalt exports
Kinshasa will test cobalt shipments after researchers estimated thousands of tonnes of uranium left the country unnoticed.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is investigating the contamination of cobalt exports with uranium, after researchers estimated that between 2,000 and 5,000 tonnes of natural uranium were likely exported from the country in cobalt-hydroxide shipments between 2000 and 2024. The government plans to test exported cobalt and establish a working group to assess the findings published in Nature Communications, while also consulting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about arranging a technical support mission.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Princeton University, suggests that less than 10% of the exported material was publicly declared and placed under international safeguards.
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