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.

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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. Stationary energy battery storage accounts for a small but emerging portion of cobalt use.

Cobalt is also used in high-strength superalloys that are primarily used in aerospace applications. Industrial processes use cobalt in various 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.

Production

Canadian production

In 2022, Canada produced an estimated 3,063 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate from primary nickel mines located in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador. This is a 23% decrease from 3,953 tonnes in 2021 and lower than the high of 5,039 tonnes in 2019. Mines in Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador accounted for 40% and 30% of cobalt mine production in Canada, respectively.

In 2022, Canada also produced 5,501 tonnes of refined cobalt at four refineries located in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta; Port Colborne, Ontario; Thompson, Manitoba; and Long Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador.

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 global producer of cobalt, accounting for 70% of world production. Because of its rapidly growing nickel industry, Indonesia recently became the world’s second-largest producer of cobalt, accounting for 5% of global production. 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.

Canada ranks seventh in the world for cobalt production, contributing 2% of the global total.

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, 2022 (p)

Ranking	Country	Thousand tonnes	Percentage of total
1	Democratic Republic of Congo	130,000	70.3%
2	Indonesia	10,000	5.4%
3	Russia	8,900	4.8%
4	Australia	5,900	3.2%
5	Philippines	3,800	2.1%
6	Cuba	3,800	2.1%
7	Canada	3,000	1.6%
8	Papua New Guinea	3,000	1.6%
9	Madagascar	3,000	1.6%
10	Turkey	2,700	1.5%
	Other	10,500	5.7%
Total		185,000	100.0%

World reserves

In 2022, world reserves of cobalt were estimated to be approximately 8.3 million tonnes. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the largest known reserves of cobalt, making up 48% of the world total. Canada ranks seventh in the world with 220,000 tonnes.

In 2022, 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, 2022

Ranking	Country	Tonnes	Percentage of total
1	Democratic Republic of Congo	4,000,000	47.9%
2	Australia	1,500,000	18.0%
3	Indonesia	600,000	7.2%
4	Cuba	500,000	6.0%
5	Philippines	260,000	3.1%
6	Russia	250,000	3.0%
7	Canada	220,000	2.6%
8	China	140,000	1.7%
9	Madagascar	100,000	1.2%
	Other	775,000	9.3%
Total		8,345,000	100.0%

Trade

Exports

• The total value of Canadian exports of cobalt and articles that contain cobalt was $793.2 million in 2022, which is a 41% increase from $562.4 million in 2021. Articles that contain cobalt include intermediate products of cobalt metallurgy, waste, and scrap.
• Most of the Canadian cobalt was exported to Norway (26%); followed by Japan (13%), the Netherlands (12%), China (12%), and the United States (10%).

Imports

• The total value of Canadian imports of cobalt and articles that contain cobalt was $114.5 million in 2022, which is a 50% increase from $76.2 million in 2021. 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 (16%), Finland (15%), and South Africa (11%). Canada also imported cobalt products from an additional 20 countries.

Prices

Cobalt prices were relatively consistent from 2013 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 growing 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 of US$33,000 per tonne because of 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 US$31,000 per tonne in 2020. Near the end of the 2020, prices began to increase again to around US$52,000 per tonne in 2021 and to US$64,000 per tonne in 2022.

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, delivered its first shipment of nickel and cobalt from recycled battery material in July 2023. Another company in the same region has also piloted hydrometallurgical processes for recycling cobalt.