Congo’s Hidden Uranium Exports – Responses from relevant companies

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

We are not aware of the situation you described. The Chinese government has consistently required Chinese companies operating overseas to conduct their production and business activities in compliance with local laws and regulations, adopt environmental protection measures in accordance with the law, actively fulfill their social responsibilities, and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. At the same time, it supports companies in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law.

Regarding the handling of the matter within China, please direct your inquiry to the relevant Chinese authorities.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not respond to a request for comment.

IAEA

An IAEA expert said the agency believed the DR Congo was meeting its safeguarding obligations in relation to uranium-bearing cobalt leaving the country.

“When cobalt is exported, it is normally exported for the mineral, not for the uranium, and for non-nuclear purposes,” the expert said. “Most of the time, [the uranium] ends up in the tailings,” they added, referring to mining waste.

CMOC

All cobalt hydroxide currently produced by TFM complies with local regulatory requirements and the procurement standards of global downstream customers with respect to uranium content. There are no instances of uranium levels exceeding applicable limits, nor has the company ever experienced customs detention, customer rejection, or quality claims related to uranium content. TFM has established a quality control and radiation testing system covering the entire production chain, ensuring reliable product quality, and maintains complete and traceable testing records.

We are not aware of the source of the historical data you cited regarding excessive uranium levels in wet cobalt and therefore cannot assess its accuracy. However, it should be made clear that all cobalt hydroxide commercially sold by TFM is dry cobalt hydroxide.

The uranium content of all cobalt hydroxide products produced by the CMOC Group is well within the applicable limits, and there are no uranium contamination issues. The uranium content in both TFM’s ore and its cobalt hydroxide is below the relevant threshold, meaning uranium removal is unnecessary and no dedicated uranium-removal process is required. However, we can further reduce uranium content in cobalt products by precisely controlling process parameters during cobalt precipitation, such as pH selection and the use of higher-quality reactive magnesium oxide.

Neither CMOC nor any of its subsidiaries engages in uranium separation or extraction activities in either the Democratic Republic of Congo or China.

I am not familiar with the internal testing data you referred to, but I would like to emphasize the following:

First, to my understanding, the 75ppm limit you mentioned is not a universally adopted industry standard. In practice, different standards exist, including 81ppm and 100ppm. Therefore, it is not appropriate to simply use 75ppm as the sole benchmark for determining compliance; a specific assessment should take into account factors such as customs requirements in different countries and enterprise-specific standards.

Second, all products exported by the company are dried cobalt hydroxide. The uranium content of the cobalt hydroxide products currently produced is fully compliant with local regulatory requirements and global downstream procurement standards. There have been no cases of excessive uranium levels, nor have there ever been customs detentions, customer rejections, or quality claims related to uranium content. We believe it is more appropriate to assess compliance based on delivered products rather than test results from the production process.

Umicore

Uranium can occur naturally alongside cobalt in certain geological formations, meaning trace amounts may be present in some cobalt-bearing intermediates. In our cobalt supply chain, uranium is treated as an incidental impurity, not as a co-product or value stream. Concentrations are extremely small, and materials are subject to strict regulatory and contractual acceptance criteria designed to ensure radiation protection and safe handling. These frameworks are in place to ensure that material with elevated radioactivity does not enter routine industrial processing.

Orano

“Orano is a mining operator with geographically diversified mining assets across Canada and Central Asia, enabling it to ensure a reliable supply of uranium to its customers.

Furthermore, customers independently determine the facilities in which uranium conversion and enrichment operations are carried out.”

ERG Africa Press Office:

“Potential radiological risks associated with mining activities within Metalkol SA (PER 652), including naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), were independently assessed by an accredited specialist company (November 2025) as part of the 2026 Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (“ESIA”) update. Following review by the National Committee for Protection against Ionizing Radiation (CNPRI), Metalkol SA was issued a Certificate of Compliance, confirming that no radiological impacts attributable to its operations were identified. Metalkol SA remains fully compliant with all applicable regulatory requirements and its ESIA commitments”

Glencore said at the time that “the prolonged presence at T17 by illegal miners has compromised our ability to conduct essential monitoring and controls” at the site. The company declined to comment further.