Just one electric vehicle can require between 10 and 30 pounds of cobalt to build its battery, depending on the manufacturer, though Tesla Inc. and other auto makers are now moving away from the material. Cobalt can boost charge rates and has a stabilizing effect, extending battery life and preventing cathode corrosion that can lead to battery fires.

Congo accounted for 70% of the world’s total output of cobalt last year, with Chinese investors controlling a similar proportion of cobalt production.

Demand is quickly growing, and the U.S. fears being left behind. Earlier this year the Biden administration dispatched a team to the capital, Kinshasa, to meet with Congolese leaders to see how America can secure access to the silvery-gray metal. Daleep Singh, a U.S. deputy national security adviser, criticized what he called “opaque” Chinese mining contracts, and said generations of investors had exploited the Congo’s resources.

Now Congo itself is pressing for a larger slice of the market, pushing back against China’s growing economic footprint in Africa, after a court last week stripped Hong Kong-listed China Molybdenum Co. of management control of its Tenke Fungurume mine. China Molybdenum will have to sit on the sidelines for six months after state miner Gécamines SA accused it of trying to evade millions of dollars in royalty payments by under-declaring reserves.

China Molybdenum, which bought the mine for $2.65 billion from Freeport McMoRan Inc. in 2016, has offered a settlement and has said that it hopes the matter will soon be resolved, but the process is moving slowly, people familiar with the situation say.

The company didn’t respond to requests for further comment. But now investigations have expanded into several other Chinese mining companies.

With the price of cobalt rising to multiyear highs, the standoff has the potential to become a turning point in China’s involvement with the continent, where until now it has run into relatively little opposition as it goes about securing supplies of valuable minerals, often in exchange for building roads and other important infrastructure.

“The DRC can stand its ground for a while, especially since the court can extend its ruling for another six months,” said Geraud Neema, an analyst and editor with the China Africa Project, a nonprofit.

As recently as last fall, China Molybdenum appeared to think it was on firmer ground in Congo. It began work on a $2.51 billion expansion plan to nearly double cobalt and copper production at the Tenke Fungurume site, set in the vast, dry scrubland of Lualaba province. Prospects looked good. Cobalt prices were on the rise as optimism grew over the faster take-up of electric vehicles.

But since December, Gécamines, which owns a 20% stake in the mine, has been pushing to remove Chinese management, accusing the Chinese of underestimating the mine’s reserves and paying less to the Congolese side than they should. Royalty payments have already tripled in recent years after Congo declared cobalt a strategic mineral. Congolese authorities are also now investigating $6 billion in Chinese-funded infrastructure-for-minerals deals.

Some industry analysts are now questioning the stability of the industry in Congo. The uncertainty is already threatening to push prices higher after more than doubling since January 2020 as electric-vehicle manufacturers rush to secure supplies.

“The Congolese government has a history of applying pressure on foreign mining operators in order to induce additional payments,” said Alexandre Raymakers, an analyst at Maplecroft, a risk consulting firm. “The scale of the Chinese presence in the country’s mining industry makes Chinese-controlled assets prime targets.”

During a visit to the mining region in the middle of last year, Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi vowed that his government would continue reviewing mining contracts to make sure that the Congolese people benefit from its vast extractive industries and finally break the so-called resources curse by paying higher wages and royalty payments. Congo is one of the world’s poorest countries, with an annual budget of roughly $7 billion. More than 60% of Congo’s 90 million people live under $1.90 a day, according to The World Bank.

“I am tired of seeing foreigners come here with empty pockets and leave as billionaires while we remain poor,” he told a cheering crowd in the city of Kolwezi.

“The problems at the Tenke Fungurume mine extend beyond questions about technical matters,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, executive director at UK-based corporate watchdog Rights and Accountability in Development, which has been documenting alleged abuses in the country’s cobalt industry.

“New management should urgently address the question of wages which are extremely low,” she said.

There is also the question of how long Kinshasa can let the dispute drag on, potentially damaging its reputation among investors. China Molybdenum and the Congolese government held months of talks before the court stripped the Chinese firm of management control at the mine. The company’s chief executive, Sun Ruiwen, held hours of talks with Mr. Tshisekedi at the presidential palace but there is still a large gap between the two sides. Some observers say the Congolese mining company’s concerns that the Chinese side acquired mining assets on unfair terms—just as Congo was recovering from years of conflict—are legitimate.

The Chinese managers will now remain on the sidelines until accounting firm Mazars evaluates whether the company failed to declare tens of thousands of tons of copper and cobalt discovered at the Tenke Fungurume site, depriving Gécamines of millions of dollars in annual payments that are required when new reserves are found.

Meanwhile, Chinese nationals have become targets for criminals and armed rebel groups. Five Chinese citizens were kidnapped in eastern Congo in November following an attack on a Chinese-run gold mine. A month later, the Chinese Embassy in Kinshasa urged its citizens to leave three provinces for safer parts of the country as violence worsened in the restive, mineral-rich regions.

“Please fully understand the severity and complexity of the current security situation,” the embassy said in a March 2 advisory. “Carefully prepare emergency plans for adjusting production, operation and personnel arrangements in case of emergencies.”