Glencore Secures $115 Million Cobalt Supply for U.S. Stockpile Amid Global Shortages
Glencore to Supply 2,000 Tons of Cobalt to U.S. National Stockpile as Prices Surge 160%
Glencore has reached an agreement to purchase nearly 2,000 metric tons of cobalt valued at approximately $115 million at current market prices from industry veteran Rami Weisfisch, according to sources familiar with the deal.
The cobalt, essential for defense and military applications, is expected to be shipped to the United States for inclusion in its planned strategic stockpile.
Strategic Context: Reducing Dependence on China
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump has been actively pursuing critical minerals to reduce reliance on China, the dominant global supplier and processor of metals vital for defense, energy, and advanced industrial applications.
China has leveraged its position through export bans, quotas, and new regulations, heightening global supply chain risks.
Terms of the Glencore-Weisfisch Deal
The London-listed miner agreed late last year to buy the cobalt from Weisfisch over 12 months in 2026, using a pricing formula linked to Fastmarkets assessments. Both Glencore and Weisfisch declined to comment.
The transaction marks the end of Weisfisch’s 50-year involvement in the cobalt market, with the material originally acquired by Weisfisch in 2015 now stored in Europe and the United States.
Sources indicate that Glencore plans to supply the cobalt to the U.S. under Project Vault, a federal initiative to stockpile critical minerals backed by $10 billion from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and $2 billion in private investment. Glencore CEO Gary Nagle confirmed the company’s participation in the project at a recent briefing.
Supply Challenges and Price Surge
The agreement comes after the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) cancelled a cobalt tender in October 2025, originally issued in August, citing a reassessment of its procurement strategy. The DLA continues to plan purchases for the National Defense Stockpile but has not announced a new tender date.
Expectations of stronger global demand and tight supply conditions especially following the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) suspension of cobalt exports from February to October 2025 due to quotas have pushed prices sharply higher.
Current cobalt prices stand at $26 per lb ($57,320 per ton), 160% above February 2025 levels.
Congo, the world’s top cobalt producer, supplies cobalt as a byproduct of copper production in the form of hydroxide, which is easily converted into cobalt sulphate for lithium-ion batteries used in EVs and mobile devices.
China, as the world’s largest cobalt processor, has been particularly affected by the DRC quotas, with buyers scrambling to secure alternative supplies.
Implications
The Glencore-Weisfisch deal highlights the growing geostrategic importance of cobalt in defense, energy storage, and electric vehicle supply chains. It also underscores the U.S.’s proactive approach to securing critical minerals amid increasing global market volatility and supply constraints.
This transaction positions Glencore as a key supplier of strategic cobalt while supporting U.S. national security objectives and reinforcing the shift toward diversified, non-China sources of critical metals.
