Congo's copper exports grew nearly 10% last year, mostly produced by Chinese companies

According to a report by Bloomberg, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's copper exports grew nearly 10% last year, making it the world's second-largest producer of industrial metals after Chile.

The report cites data indicating that Congo's copper shipments reached 3.1 million tons in 2024, up from 3.4 million tons last year; most of this was produced by Chinese companies, including CMOC (03993.HK), which owns the country's first and third-largest mining areas—where the TFM mine produced 519,000 tons of metal, and the KFM (Kisanfu) copper-cobalt mine produced 228,000 tons.

The country's second-largest copper mine, the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine, is jointly built by Canada's Ivanhoe Mines and China's Zijin Mining (02899.HK), with a production of 400,000 tons last year.

Robert Friedland, founder and co-chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, stated that the growth rate of Congo's copper production is currently the fastest in the world and will become a global leader.

Data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that Chile's copper production remained the highest in the world last year, estimated at 5.3 million tons, but Congo has rapidly risen in global rankings in recent years, surpassing Peru and China, with its contribution to global supply more than doubling over the past decade