Substantial unreported quantities of natural uranium are leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo inside industrial cobalt-hydroxide shipments, according to geological research published in July 2026. The study calculates that between 2,000 and 5,000 tonnes of natural uranium moved out of the country between 2000 and 2024 as an unintended byproduct of the critical mineral trade, creating significant gaps in global nuclear accountancy.
Geologic Coincidence Links Cobalt Refining to Uranium Exports
The southern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as the Copperbelt, supplies 70% of the world’s cobalt. According to the research, this material sits in close proximity to concentrated uranium deposits like the Shinkolobwe mine, which served as the primary source of uranium for the United States Manhattan Project between 1942 and 1947. Shinkolobwe has officially remained closed to excavation since 2004, and the DRC has not officially reported any uranium exports in decades.
Over millions of years, rainwater carried uranium away from those concentrated deposits. Heterogenite, the principal mineral supplying cobalt, adsorbs or grabs hold of that migrating uranium. Because uranium and cobalt share similar chemical behaviors during crude refining in the DRC, the elements prove difficult to separate. As a result, nearly all the uranium extracted alongside cobalt remains in the final export-ready product.
Assessing Export Volumes and Oversight Gaps
By combining geological maps of likely uranium grades with ore processing volumes at individual Copperbelt facilities and chemical behavior models, researchers linked cobalt production directly to likely uranium exports. The resulting data indicates that 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes of natural uranium left the DRC in cobalt-hydroxide shipments over a 24-year period. Less than 10% of this material appeared in public declarations to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which handles uranium safeguards and accountancy. Most shipments went to China, which dominates the global cobalt market.
Researchers calculate that this volume of uranium could be processed into enough material for roughly 600 to 1,500 nuclear weapons, or fuel a standard light-water nuclear reactor for 10 to 25 years. Even if refineries implement removal strategies to meet international shipping limits for radioactivity, enough uranium still reaches China annually to manufacture approximately 12 nuclear weapons.
Did you know? The Shinkolobwe mine in the south-east DRC provided the uranium ore used for the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 before closing in 2004.
Environmental Health and Worker Safety Hazards
Beyond global security concerns, the undocumented flow of radioactive material poses acute risks to local populations and environments near Copperbelt mining operations. Researchers estimate that 1,000 to 4,000 tonnes of uranium have been discarded in highly mobile forms within tailings areas, which hold leftover material from mining operations. This dynamic presents an environmental safety hazard to surrounding communities.
Prior research cited in the study shows that miners and nearby residents display signs of uranium exposure based on blood and urine sampling. Import records for chemical reagents needed to remove uranium reveal that only three out of 31 investigated refining operations consistently implement removal measures.
Probes and Proposed Regulatory Changes
In response to the July 2026 study, the DRC launched a probe to test outgoing cobalt shipments for uranium content and initiated consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, study authors argue that broader policy actions are necessary to secure the supply chain.
Recommended interventions include systematic assay measurements where an independent agency tests representative samples of cobalt shipments to establish a shared record. Experts also call for worker radiation monitoring across the Copperbelt and mandatory treatment policies to extract uranium from cobalt products, disposing of the radioactive byproduct in stable forms isolated from public water supplies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is uranium found in DRC cobalt exports?
Uranium and cobalt naturally co-occur in the geological formations of the DRC Copperbelt. Heterogenite, the main mineral source for cobalt, absorbs uranium washed from nearby deposits by rainwater, and both elements react similarly during standard chemical processing.
How much uranium is leaving the DRC undetected?
Geological models estimate that between 2,000 and 5,000 tonnes of natural uranium left the DRC in cobalt-hydroxide shipments between 2000 and 2024, with less than 10% reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
What is being done to address this security gap?
Following the publication of research in July 2026, the DRC launched a probe to test outgoing cobalt shipments for uranium content and opened consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency to improve monitoring and oversight.
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