We had some fun with this one 2015 - 2018 but now the game has changed. For the last five years Elon Musk has been doing everything he can do to get cobalt out of his battery chemistry and the rest of the big battery players are working toward the same goal (think CATL).
From OilPrice, October 30:
- Cobalt prices reached record lows due to an oversupply, primarily stemming from a stockpile created during a lengthy ownership dispute in the DRC.
- The demand for cobalt has decreased with falling EV sales in Europe and China, and as battery production shifts to cobalt-free chemistries.
- Analysts are divided on the future of cobalt, weighing its benefits in extending battery life against the appeal of cheaper, cobalt-free alternatives.
Via Metal Miner
Analysts once hailed cobalt as a commodity whose price would rise forever. Used in the cathodes of many lithium-ion batteries to extend the life of the battery cell, investors and mine operators eagerly anticipated high returns on all cobalt investments. However, cobalt prices recently dropped to record lows amid global oversupply and a widespread slowdown in the battery market. Suddenly, those same traders and mine companies are scratching their heads.
Most of the world’s cobalt supply originates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an impoverished sub-Saharan African country. The people there widely believe cobalt mining is the key to a better future. As a result, they will risk their lives to mine it. Indeed, a quarter of the cobalt mined in the DRC comes from “artisanal mining” where miners use their hands and simple tools to extract the metal from the Earth. In turn, mine collapses that trap miners underground are common. Those who survive the mining process often go on to sell the metal ore they collect to Chinese brokers who siphon off most of the profit.
DRC Behind the Cobalt Surplus...
....MUCH MORE
We happened to catch the DRC stockpile story back on March 1:
"A $1.5 billion hoard of copper and cobalt is piling up in Congo"
Okay, here's the plan. We're going to need a truck....
And from the LME via Investing.com (also on blogroll at right) three years of price action:
