"new licenses...during the month of January", page-13

I think the real driver will be the price of Cobalt. We don't know what is happening on the ground with exploration licenses. Mark.G did say they want to increase their footprint in Kamilombe so it may need further consideration by the consortium (Lualaba government & Mintmaster) who hold a 40% interest in the projects and Gecamines to re-draw the boundaries of the area to be explored.
Mark Gasson and Klaus Ekhof have a fairly good track record in the DRC, and I can't imagine they would put themselves in a situation that would aggravate their Chinese investors.