Cobalt facts

Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, silver-grey metal that is used primarily as a cathode material in lithium ion and other types of batteries. It is also used in powerful magnets, cutting tools and high-strength alloys in the aeronautical, energy and defense sectors. Cobalt compounds have been used for centuries as a pigment for pottery, glass, paints and other media. Cobalt is also an important part of human nutrition as part of vitamin B12.

Learn more about cobalt

Uses

Batteries are the main end use for cobalt as a cathode material. Electric vehicles currently dominate use, but lithium-ion batteries in cell phones and laptops also consume a sizeable quantity of global cobalt.

An emerging cobalt use in batteries is as stationary energy storage, but its current share of the market is very small. Industrial uses of cobalt include use in more metal and chemical products. Metal applications include cemented carbides, alloys, magnets and diamond tools. Chemical applications have a wide range, from pigments, inks, catalysts, and tires to driers. High-strength superalloys containing cobalt are used primarily for aerospace applications.

Production

Canadian production

In 2021, Canada produced an estimated 3,834 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate from primary nickel mines located in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador. This is a 14% decrease from 4,474 tonnes in 2020 and lower than the high of 5,039 tonnes in 2019.

The decrease in production in 2021 is attributed to a labour disruption in Sudbury. Additionally, the temporary shutdowns of facilities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to decreased production in 2020 and 2021. Mines in Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario accounted for 36% and 30% of cobalt mine production in Canada, respectively.

In 2020, Canada also produced 5,965 tonnes of refined cobalt at four refineries located in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta; Port Colborne, Ontario; Thompson, Manitoba; and Long Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador. While most of the monthly 2021 production data are suppressed by the source for confidentiality purposes, a decline for the available months of September through December point to an anticipated decline in production for 2021.

It is worth noting that refined cobalt production is higher than cobalt mine production because Canadian refineries process nickel and cobalt from imported materials, mostly from mines in the United States and Cuba.

Future production of cobalt is anticipated to continue to come mostly from primary nickel mines in Canada. One exception, currently at the advanced exploration stage, is the NICO deposit in the Northwest Territories, which is a cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper deposit.

International context

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest producer of cobalt in the world, accounting for 73% of world production. Canada ranks sixth in the world for cobalt production, contributing only 2% of the global total. Cobalt is mined mostly as a by-product of copper or nickel mining, with the exceptions of artisanal mining in Congo and production in Morocco.

China is the top producer of refined cobalt. Most of the concentrate or raw ore comes originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and domestic sources. China is also the top consumer of cobalt, with most being used in battery manufacturing.

World mine production of cobalt, by country, 2021 (p)

Ranking	Country	Thousand tonnes	Percentage of total
1	Democratic Republic of Congo	120,000	72.8%
2	Russia	7,600	4.6%
3	Australia	5,600	3.4%
4	Philippines	4,500	2.7%
5	Cuba	3,900	2.4%
6	Canada	3,800	2.3%
7	Papua New Guinea	3,000	1.8%
8	Madagascar	2,500	1.5%
9	Morocco	2,300	1.4%
10	China	2,200	1.3%
	Other	9,400	5.7%
Total		164,800	100.0%

World reserves

In 2021, the world reserves of cobalt were estimated to be approximately 7.6 million tonnes. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the largest known reserves of cobalt, making up 46% of the world total. Canada ranks seventh in the world with 220,000 tonnes of cobalt reserves.

In 2021, cobalt terrestrial resources were estimated to be approximately 25 million tonnes, and global ocean resources were estimated to be 120 million tonnes.

The terrestrial resources are found mostly in sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, there are significant quantities of cobalt as a secondary or tertiary mineral in nickel-bearing laterites in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cuba and in magmatic nickel-copper sulphide deposits in Canada, Australia, the United States and Russia.

Cobalt resources have also been identified in polymetallic nodules on the sea floor.

World reserves of cobalt, by country, 2021 (p)

Ranking	Country	Tonnes	Percentage of total
1	Democratic Republic of Congo	3,500,000	45.8%
2	Australia	1,400,000	18.3%
3	Indonesia	600,000	7.8%
4	Cuba	500,000	6.5%
5	Philippines	260,000	3.4%
6	Russia	250,000	3.3%
7	Canada	220,000	2.9%
8	Madagascar	100,000	1.3%
9	China	80,000	1.0%
	Other	739,000	9.7%
Total		7,649,000	100.0%

Trade

Exports

• The total value of Canadian exports of cobalt and articles that contain cobalt was $562.4 million in 2021, which is a 48% increase from $379.2 million in 2020. Articles that contain cobalt include intermediate products of cobalt metallurgy, waste, and scrap.
• Most of the Canadian cobalt was exported to Norway (29%); followed by China (17%), the Netherlands (15%), the United States (10%) and Japan (10%).

Imports

• The total value of Canadian imports of cobalt and articles that contain cobalt was $76.2 million in 2021, which is a 42% increase from $53.5 million in 2020. Articles that contain cobalt include intermediate products of cobalt metallurgy, waste, and scrap.
• Canada imported cobalt mainly from the United States (41%); followed by Australia (10%), Finland (7%), South Africa (6%) and the United Kingdom (6%). Canada also imported cobalt products from an additional 23 countries.

Prices

Cobalt prices were relatively consistent from 2012 to 2016, averaging between US$26,000 and US$30,000 per tonne, but increased dramatically in 2017 to an average of US$56,000 per tonne. In 2018, the price rose to US$73,000 per tonne and peaked at US$95,000 per tonne in March 2018.

The price increase was driven primarily by increased demand for cobalt in lithium ion batteries and by global policy initiatives as governments around the world began to set net zero targets for emissions. Concerns over supply also contributed to the price increase. However, in 2019, the price decreased dramatically to an average price of US$33,000 per tonne. This price change was caused by increased output from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the stockpiling of cobalt chemicals in China.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many end-use sectors for cobalt in 2020, decreasing demand, further lowering the price to an average of $US31,000 per tonne in 2020. Near the end of the 2020, prices began to increase again to around US$47,000 per tonne in the first half of 2021 and to US$62,000 per tonne by the last quarter of 2021.

Growing demand in the electric vehicle sector was the main driver behind increasing prices. Cobalt is considered the most expensive of the battery metals, leading many countries and companies to invest in research and development for lithium ion battery alternatives that do not use cobalt.

Recycling

A cobalt sulfate refinery in Timiskaming, Ontario, is scheduled to begin production in 2022. They want to begin recycling batteries to extract cobalt and other minerals from lithium ion batteries in 2023. Another company in the same region has also piloted hydrometallurgical processes for recycling cobalt.