Glencore said on Wednesday a significant portion of its cobalt production was likely to remain unsold by the end of 2025 due to Democratic Republic of Congo's suspension of cobalt exports…DRC, the world's top cobalt supplier, imposed a four-month suspension on exports in February after prices hit a nine-year low, and then extended it by three months in June…"The extension of the export ban is expected to significantly tighten cobalt availability and accelerate inventory drawdowns, providing support to prices," Glencore said in its first-half results statement…The company said on Wednesday that it was stockpiling its DRC cobalt production in the country since the export ban was imposed. It did not say how much cobalt had been stockpiled.

The United States has begun talks with the Cook Islands for research on seabed mineral exploration and development, just months after the South Pacific nation inked cooperation pacts with China that included undersea mining…The US State Department announced Tuesday that the deal would involve mapping the Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), calling it “one of the most promising regions for deep-sea mineral deposits.”…The Cook Islands, a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand, consists of 15 islands and atolls located between New Zealand and Hawaii. Officials from the Cook Islands signed a five-year strategic partnership with China in February, covering cooperation in seabed mining, education, the economy, infrastructure, fisheries and disaster management…The US push for seabed mining reflects a broader geopolitical strategy. In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to accelerate American licensing for deep-sea mining, describing it as a “gold rush” to counter China’s growing influence. The order marked a sharp departure from decades of US deference to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a treaty Washington has never ratified but largely followed.