DR Congo added lithium to a list of strategic minerals that are subject to increased royalties, the country’s latest bid to boost revenues from its natural resources.
Niobium, tantalum, tungsten, and uranium were also added to the list of minerals in the higher 10% tax bracket, according to a video posted on the mines ministry’s X account.
The country’s southeastern region is home to one of the world’s largest hard-rock deposits of lithium, key for making batteries used in the renewable energy sector. DR Congo, like other African nations, is trying to capture more value from their raw materials. It imposed restrictions on cobalt exports late last year, forcing the metal’s largest producers to adopt new strategies. Ghana’s gold regulators, for example, introduced a new sliding‑scale royalty rate in March that rises in line with bullion prices. And Mali’s revised mining code sparked a dispute with Canadian miner Barrick last year, while Zimbabwe suspended its lithium exports earlier this year.