A study published in Nature Communications and highlighted by France’s Le Monde estimates that at least 2,000 metric tons of uranium left the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2000 and 2024 without oversight from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The investigation, conducted by Lighthouse Reports, the Financial Times, and researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Princeton University, estimates that this quantity of uranium could theoretically produce approximately 600 nuclear warheads if used for weapons. The study identifies China as the primary destination of the DRC’s cobalt exports, with importing more than 95 percent in 2025.
According to the study, although uranium mining is prohibited in the DRC, uranium is not exported as a separate commodity but remains naturally mixed with cobalt ore. Cobalt, a critical raw material for electric vehicle batteries, must undergo chemical processing to remove radioactive uranium before it can be refined into battery-grade materials.
The investigation does not conclude that the Chinese government or Chinese companies intentionally imported uranium or that any recovered uranium has been used for military purposes. However, it notes that international experts believe China has the capability to recover uranium during the cobalt-refining process. It also cites a 2023 article in the Chinese journal Modern Mining, in which Chinese researchers described uranium contained in Congolese cobalt as a strategically valuable resource that should be “efficiently recovered” and “fully utilized.” The report further notes that China’s domestic uranium production meets less than 20 percent of its annual demand, underscoring the country’s growing strategic need for imported uranium.
Source: Radio France International, August 1, 2026
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/专栏检索/法国世界报/20260731-悄无声息地，刚果大量的铀被运到了中国