Cobalt - Copperbelt Katanga Mining

China Moly boosts Q3 cobalt output by 21%

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 admin

China Molybdenum Co lifted its July-September cobalt output by 21.2% from the previous quarter, data released on Wednesday showed, putting the company back on course to hit its full-year production target for the battery metal. China Moly, which operates the Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the world’s biggest copper-cobalt deposits, said it produced 10,507 tonnes of cobalt metal in the first nine months of 2020, which was down 16.7% year-on-year, although sales were up 15% at 12,794 tonnes. The nine-month production number implies… Read More Here

DRC: COVID-19 and cobalt crash

October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 admin

The global health crisis is slowing the development of processing plants after plummeting cobalt prices led to the closing of some operations in 2019. The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated problems that were already brewing in the mining sector in the DRC, a major producer of the cobalt used in electric-car batteries and the copper used in materials for the construction and power sectors. After hitting highs of $100,000/tn in 2018, cobalt prices crashed to around $30,000/tn in 2019 due to a combination of increased production and a slowdown in purchases… Read More Here

Mining in DRC Cobalt Copper

Gécamines produced 15,288 tonnes of copper and 100 tonnes of cobalt by the end of August 2020- DRC

September 23, 2020September 24, 2020 admin

La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) had in the first 8 months of 2020 produced 15,288 tonnes of copper and 100 tonnes of cobalt against 12,858 tonnes of copper and 101 tonnes of cobalt in the same period in 2019, according to the Central Bank of Congo. The mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo produced 1,041,445 tonnes of copper at the end of August 2020 against 919,937 tonnes at the same period in 2019, i.e. production up 13.2%, says the Central Bank. of the Congo… Read More Here

Cobalt Battery Metals Mining in DRC

5G technology to boost demand for cobalt, expected to reach 73,000 tonnes by 2025

September 23, 2020September 23, 2020 arnbethnic

According to analysts, 5G technology will be one of the main consumers of cobalt within five years, with demand expected to drop from 45,000 tonnes this year to 73,000 tonnes in 2025, reports Agence Ecofin, which relayed Reuters. 5G could become the number one consumer of cobalt over the years, supplanting the electric vehicle sector which currently occupies the largest share of the global market. Indeed, the antenna of 5G stations requires rechargeable batteries more powerful, able to accumulate enough energy to allow its operation. In addition, the batteries used in… Read More Here

Cobalt Mining in DRC

DRC produced 51,235 tonnes of cobalt in the first 8 months of 2020

September 22, 2020September 22, 2020 arnbethnicCobalt Production

Mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo produced overall 51,235 tonnes of cobalt at the end of August 2020 against 50,714 tonnes in the same period the previous year, an increase of 1.02%, according to data provided by the Bank. Central Congo. In this volume of production, the Congolese public company Gécamines produced only 100 tonnes of cobalt, the rest being provided by its mining partners and other mining companies. Throughout 2019, the DRC’s mining industry produced 77,964 tonnes of cobalt compared to 109,402 tonnes in 2018. The… Read More Here

Cobalt Battery Metals International

Tesla “battery day” a possible blow to cobalt miners

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 admin

Elon Musk’s Tesla will hosts its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 22, followed by the highly anticipated “battery technology day”, a worldwide live-streamed event during which the firm is expected to unveil its own new type of battery cell. Speculation points to a cobalt-free battery that uses more of less costly metals such as nickel and manganese. Tesla currently uses the nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathode chemistry, which has a low cobalt content of about 5%, for their cars produced outside China. The company also embraces the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) to identify red flags such as child labour in their cobalt sourcing.… Read More Here

Cobalt Mining in DRC

Miners produced 44,878 tonnes of cobalt at the end of July 2020, up slightly from the same period in 2019 in DRC

September 12, 2020September 12, 2020 admin

Mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo produced 44,878 tonnes of copper as of July 31, 2020 compared to 44,002 tonnes in the same period in 2019, a slight increase of 1.99% from the previous year. In 2019, the DRC’s miners overall produced 77,964 tonnes of cobalt. The production record was reached in 2018 with 109,402 tonnes of cobalt. Cobalt prices were around $ 33,000 per tonne last week. The DRC is the largest producer of cobalt in the world. Congo Kinshasa has about 60% of the world’s cobalt reserves.… Read More Here

Mining in DRC Artisanal mining Cobalt

Tesla joins cobalt group that supports artisanal miners in DRC

September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 admin

Tesla is backing a new initiative to support informal cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo as carmakers and miners seek to reassure customers about ethically mined supplies of the battery metal. The company joined the fledgling Fair Cobalt Alliance, according to an updated list of members on the group’s website. The FCA aims to end the use of child labour at mining sites and improve working conditions in Congo. It’s also backed by miner and trader Glencore and major Chinese cobalt refiner Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. Almost three-quarters of… Read More Here

Cobalt International

Cobalt prices surge on electronics boom, as its supply tightens

September 4, 2020September 4, 2020 admin

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports cobalt hydroxide prices surged by more than 22% to more than $26,000 per tonne in August from July, while cobalt sulphate prices jumped 18.5% to average over $8,000 a tonne on the back of supply disruption and strong demand from the consumer electronics sector. The London-based battery supply chain and price discovery agency reports the price rally came despite lacklustre demand from the electric vehicle throughout the month. Benchmark says the soft downstream environment was most notable in top Chinese cobalt refiner GEM’s announcement that its NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese)… Read More Here

Cobalt Mining in DRC

China Moly’s H1 cobalt production down 24% year/year

August 30, 2020August 30, 2020 arnbethnicChina Moly

China Molybdenum Co., one of the world’s biggest cobalt producers, saw its output of the battery metal fall 24% year-on-year in the first half, according to Reuters calculations based on company filings. China Moly, which operates the Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said in a statement on the Shanghai Stock Exchange it produced 6,543 tonnes of cobalt metal in January-June this year. It had reported output of 8,614 tonnes in the first half of 2019. The number implies second-quarter production of 3,299 tonnes of cobalt, a key… Read More Here