The International Energy Agency said the copper supply outlook has worsened significantly, warning DRC mines reliant on sulphuric acid leaching face a strong set of near-term challenges.
Congolese tax authorities sealed the offices of Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in a dispute over payments the state says it is owed, though production was unaffected.
Lobito Atlantic Railway is aiming to roughly double the tonnage of copper and cobalt it carries in 2026, as weekly train frequency rises toward a longer-term capacity target of 4.6 million tonnes a year.
The DRC said it expects no major disruption to copper and cobalt production despite Middle East supply-chain pressure, reporting first-quarter copper exports of 824,000 tonnes.
Lobito Atlantic Railway received its first copper shipment from the DRC in about two months after repairing flood-damaged track, restoring a key Congolese export route.
Lobito Atlantic Railway has resumed carrying Congolese copper after floods in Angola's Benguela province cut the line in April 2026, restoring a key mineral export route to the Atlantic.
Trafigura, Aurubis and Kamoa Copper completed the first sale of low-carbon refined copper shipped from the DRC to Europe via the Lobito Atlantic Railway.
Wood Mackenzie estimated that sulphur supply disruption from the Iran war could remove up to 125,000 tonnes of copper output in the DRC, as acid prices more than doubled.
Workers at CMOC's Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine returned to work after the company threatened dismissal over a strike sparked by a disputed labour agreement.
Mopani Copper Mines said it has no plan to export concentrate under Zambia's latest duty waiver, despite receiving the largest allocation of 100,000t, and will instead feed its own smelter.
Zambia has extended its 10% export duty waiver on copper concentrate to 30 September 2026, covering almost 272,000 tonnes, as smelter maintenance and outages limit domestic processing capacity.
Konkola Copper Mines began a planned 60-day maintenance shutdown of its Nchanga smelter on 29 May, with work scheduled to run to 25 July as part of Vedanta's modernisation plan.
Orion Minerals is advancing a $250m Glencore prepayment and offtake agreement alongside a roughly R180m share placement, completed around 28 May 2026, to fund redevelopment of its Prieska and Okiep copper projects in South Africa's Northern Cape.
Zambia has cleared Chambishi Copper Smelter and Mopani Copper Mines to resume limited sulphuric acid exports to the DRC, after domestic stocks recovered from months of shortage.
ZCCM-IH's chief executive said in May 2026 the Zambian state investment company was working to raise its stake in KoBold Metals' Mingomba copper project to 25% from 20%, after already lifting its Lubambe Copper Mines stake to 30%.
Midnight Sun Mining has extended its Dumbwa copper discovery in Zambia to more than 5.3 kilometres of strike, with assays confirming several thick, high-grade zones.
Zambia produced 208,992t of copper in the first quarter of 2026, down 4.27% year on year, although output from large-scale mines rose 1.8%, Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe said.
The DRC is seeking a stake in the $270m Kalumbila-Kolwezi power interconnector after Zambia's energy regulator approved construction, a line designed to carry up to 550MW between the two countries' copperbelts.
The DRC is weighing a stake in a $270m power link to Zambia to ease electricity shortages in its copper belt, as mining expansion outpaces the domestic grid.
The International Copper Study Group swung its 2026 forecast to a 96,000-tonne surplus in late April 2026, reversing its earlier call for a 150,000-tonne deficit.
AI-driven explorer KoBold Metals has broken ground on shaft construction at its Mingomba copper project in Zambia, targeting first output in the early 2030s.
First Quantum has deferred the conversion of its Guelb Moghrein mine in Mauritania to a gold-only operation until 2027, raising 2026 copper guidance to about 7,000t and cutting gold guidance.
Two of Zambia's largest copper smelters, Mopani and Chambishi, face extended maintenance outages in 2026, threatening copper output and sulphuric acid supply already strained by the Iran war.
The DRC raised planned copper sales to the United States to 500,000 tonnes, a fivefold increase on its initial commitment, as Gécamines expands its independent trading operation.
