Cobalt Congress 2026

• Dinah McLeod, Director General, Cobalt Institute

• Branko Buhavac, CEO IXM, VP & CCO CMOC Group, IXM

• H.E. Louis Watum Kabamba, Minister of Mines, DR Congo
• Dinah McLeod, Director General, Cobalt Institute

• Marie-Chantal Kaninda, President of Glencore DRC, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), Glencore
• Gracelin Baskaran, Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, CSIS
• Dinah McLeod, Director General, Cobalt Institute

This session will mark the launch of the Cobalt Market Report 2025 and provide an in-depth discussion of the key trends that drove the cobalt industry in 2025. Speakers will explore the impact of recent export bans and quota policies, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and evolving supply and demand patterns.

• William Talbot, Research Manager, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
• Ying Lu, Principal Analyst, Project Blue
• Meidy Katrin Lengkey, Secretary General, Association of Nickel Miners Indonesia (APNI)
• Kwasi Ampofo, Head of Metals and Mining, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, BNEF
• Marina Demidova, Head of Communications & External Affairs, Cobalt Institute

• Patrick Luabeya, Chairman, ARECOMS – Strategic Mineral Substances Market Regulation and Control Authority

Through 2025, the DRC has taken significant steps to design and implement new controls across the cobalt sector, including export frameworks, ASM processing initiatives, actions against illegal mining, and further progress towards ASM formalisation. Together, these measures represent an increasingly integrated approach to responsible governance of a strategic mineral. This session will explore how these initiatives connect within the government’s longer-term vision, how implementation is progressing in practice, and what this means for cobalt supply chains and markets going forward.

• Eric Kalala, CEO, Entreprise Générale du Cobalt – Vice-President of the Chamber of Mines of DRC
• Jean-Luc Mathey, Project Director, Cobalt for Development (C4D)
• Esther Rodriguez, Human Rights and Critical Minerals Lead, Ericsson
• Alain Ciabu Kota, Senior Expert at BGR Cooperation Project in the DRC
• Jean Jacques Kayembe Mufwankolo, Senior Leader in Natural Resource Governance and Public Financial Management, ITIE-RDC
• Susannah McLaren, Head of Responsible Sourcing & Sustainability, Cobalt Institute

Traceability has rapidly become a central feature of responsible cobalt sourcing, but what does it mean in practice today? This panel takes stock of where traceability stands across the cobalt value chain, drawing on upstream and downstream perspectives, and explores how traceability can better support meaningful transparency and positive ESG outcomes. The session offers a balanced reflection on progress to date, key challenges, and priorities for next steps.

• Cecilia Mattea, Europe Regional Lead, IRMA – Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance
• Ben Katz, Minerals Sector Lead, OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct
• Sara Olsson, Responsible Business Manager, IXM
• Leonor von Limburg, Sr. Advisor Economic Policy and Private Sector Development, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• Mirela Omerovic, Senior Manager – Compliance, Governance, and Sustainability, Microsoft
• Tom Fairlie, Senior Manager – Sustainability and Batteries, Cobalt Institute

Critical minerals and cobalt markets have been buffeted by geopolitical winds in 2025. What is the role for collaborative policymaking in an increasingly uncollaborative world?

• Peter Handley, Founder, PHASE32
• Wouter Ghyoot, Vice-President Government Affairs, Umicore
• Joel Riethmiller, Founding Partner, Imperium Global Advisers
• Mahnaz Khan, Vice President of Policy for Critical Supply Chains, Silverado Policy Accelerator
• Elisabetta Sartorel, Policy Officer – Critical Raw Materials, DG INTPA, European Commission
• Mike Blakeney, Head of Government Affairs, Cobalt Institute