Cobalt - Copperbelt Katanga Mining

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

Mining in DRC Cobalt International

Glencore joins Fair Cobalt Alliance

August 25, 2020August 25, 2020 admin

Switzerland-based miner Glencore has joined the Fair Cobalt Alliance in support of the group’s efforts to eliminate child and forced labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Glencore mothballed its Mutanda copper-cobalt mine in the DRC in 2019 The miner noted that as an industrial miner it does not process, buy or trade ASM materials, but said the artisanal sector was a significant employer in the DRC and played “an important and sustainable” role in the economy. Some 60% of the world’s cobalt is… Read More Here

Mining in DRC Coal Cobalt

Miners relieved after DRC makes exceptions to export ban

August 23, 2020August 23, 2020 admin

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has given mining companies an indefinite waiver to an export ban on cobalt hydroxide and carbonate, as well as tin, tungsten and tantalum concentrates after meeting the country’s biggest miners in Kinshasa. The mines ministry also announced on Saturday an export ban waiver on copper concentrate, but said the duration of that waiver is still to be determined, with companies expected to submit proposals in a week. The DRC, the world’s leading producer of cobalt and Africa’s biggest copper producer, banned exports of… Read More Here

Cobalt Mining in DRC

Huayou Cobalt to stop the Purchase of cobalt in DRC

August 21, 2020August 21, 2020 admin

Chinese refiner Huayou Cobalt has stopped all purchases of cobalt from two artisanal and small-scale mines (ASM) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in response to human-rights concerns. Huayou Cobalt will not resume purchases from the Kasulo and Kamilombe mines until standards are developed for the DRC by the Better Mining programme, which is being developed by German supply chain organisation the RCS Group, reported Reuters. Mining Magazine reported earlier this month that Better Mining’s collaboration with Huayou Cobalt had been extended. RCS monitoring will continue at the Kasulo and Kamilombe mines… Read More Here

Covid-19 Cobalt

China to boost cobalt reserves as virus spurs supply risks

August 19, 2020August 20, 2020 admin

China’s state stockpiling agency has drawn up plans to buy 2,000 tonnes of cobalt after the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the fragility of supplies of the strategic mineral. The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration could put its purchasing plan into action by the end of this year, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authoriSed to speak publicly. The move is in response to supply disruptions from top producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and is in line with… Read More Here

Copper Cobalt Mining in DRC

RCS Global & Responsible Minerals Institute expand Better Mining artisanal mine monitoring program

August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 admin

RCS Global Group and Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) have expanded Better Mining’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mine (ASM) program to include additional cobalt and copper mine sites in Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced. The expansion begins with the immediate addition of a mining site near Likasi, followed by a fifth site currently under evaluation. Better Mining and the RMI plan to scale the program to 12 locations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 2023. The agreement marks the next phase in the expansion of the… Read More Here