Congo Copper and Cobalt Miners Are Being Forced to Cut Chemical Use as Middle East Conflict Hits the New Energy Supply Chain

The shockwaves from the Middle East conflict are now spreading deeper into the global new energy supply chain. On April 13, Reuters revealed that major copper and cobalt producers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have already seen some key leaching chemical orders canceled or withdrawn this month, forcing mines to cut chemical usage and even begin considering production cuts.

Supply chain breakpoints: chemical shortages strike at the core of production

As the world’s largest cobalt producer and Africa’s biggest supplier of copper, the Democratic Republic of Congo holds an irreplaceable position in the electric vehicle and energy transition supply chain. However, these mining operations are highly dependent on leaching chemicals such as sulfuric acid and sodium metabisulfite, and the supply of these chemicals is now being seriously disrupted by shipping turmoil linked to the Iran war.

According to sources cited by Reuters, one order for 2,000 tons of sodium metabisulfite was canceled outright, while another shipment of 1,800 tons was withdrawn after the contract had already been signed. This kind of sudden disruption at the order level shows that the supply chain has already moved beyond the phase of “rising costs” and entered the phase of “unstable supply.”

Mine response: from “normal production” to “using chemicals sparingly”

Faced with this uncertainty in chemical supply, copper and cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo have adopted a very practical response. Both sources and supply chain advisers said mining companies are now cutting chemical consumption and trying to stretch existing inventories as far as possible. At the same time, some companies have begun considering reducing cobalt output, and even do not rule out producing off-spec cobalt products, which is clearly not an ideal option.

This series of moves sends a clear message: the problem has already escalated from “a bit more expensive” to “possibly not enough supply at all.” For mines that depend on continuous operations, any disruption in chemical supply can mean that production lines may ultimately be forced to stop.

Multiple pressures at once: policy, shipping, and chemical shortages squeezing the chain

The copper and cobalt chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo was already under considerable pressure. The country’s suspension of cobalt exports and quota rules had already put pressure on global refining, and now the disruption in chemical supply is adding yet another turn of the screw to an already strained chain. Policy constraints, shipping disruptions, and chemical shortages are now acting together and continuing to push directly on mining operations.

The market response is changing as well. As uncertainty rises, buyers are no longer satisfied with simply placing orders. They are now repeating orders, rechecking them, and in some cases even sending people to warehouses to verify physical inventory and ownership documents. In this market, the first concern is no longer price, but whether the goods physically exist, whether ownership is clear, and whether they can actually be shipped on time.

Cost surge: longer shipping cycles are turning expected shortages into real shortages

The speed at which costs are worsening is equally alarming. Premiums for sulfuric acid and sodium metabisulfite transported through Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port have nearly doubled since the conflict began. On top of that, rerouted vessels and tight shipping capacity are extending transit times. What used to take three months can now take four months or even six.

For mining companies, leaching chemicals are not optional inventory. They are key inputs directly tied to whether production lines can keep running. Once shipping cycles get longer, shortages stop being just a risk on paper and become a real production problem.

A deeper warning: the fragility of the new energy metals chain is being exposed

What is really disturbing here is not the cancellation of any single order. It is the way this incident exposes a very real weak point in the new energy metals chain. For years, the industry has focused on how important copper is, how important cobalt is, how important mining resources are, and how important the Democratic Republic of Congo is. But far fewer people have paid real attention to the chemical supply chain behind those mines.

Now this event strips that underlying logic bare: having the ore, the equipment, and the workers does not automatically mean output is secure. If critical chemicals cannot get in, the mine can still be stopped. At that point, the issue is no longer a resource problem. It is a supply chain problem.

Transmission path: the shock wave is moving from petrochemicals into mining

At a deeper level, the spillover from the Iran war has already moved beyond the petrochemical sector and is now hitting the upstream side of new energy. Copper and cobalt are essential raw materials for batteries and the clean energy transition, yet their production is now being threatened because the supply of chemicals has been disrupted by shipping turmoil and war. The path of transmission is both typical and brutal: once upstream chemical feedstocks and shipping are disrupted, even mining gets dragged down.

What comes next: the global copper and cobalt chain may face a broader reshuffle

If this situation continues, the question will no longer be only whether mines will cut output. It will also be whether global refiners, precursor producers, cathode material makers, and battery supply chains will be forced to reassess supply schedules. For now, the problem is still at the stage of “using chemicals more sparingly.” But once it moves to “actual production cuts,” it will no longer be only Congo’s problem. The entire global copper and cobalt supply chain would tighten with it.

The Middle East conflict is redefining the security boundary of the global new energy supply chain in a way that few expected. Once chemical supply becomes a key constraint on mining output, the resilience of the entire industry supply chain will face a test on a completely new scale.