CSIP: PRELIMS BOOSTER SERIES-421 GEOGRAPHY
MINERALS: COBALT
WHY IN NEWS?
Mining of cobalt leading to human rights violation is Congo
COBALT
Cobalt is a lustrous very hard silvery metal belonging to a group called the “transition metals”. It is one of only 3 ferromagnetic transition elements along with iron and nickel
ORES:
The element is more usually produced as a by-product of copper and nickel mining.
Some cobalt is produced specifically from one of a number of metallic-lustered ores, such as cobaltite (CoAsS)
USES
Cobalt is primarily used in lithium-ion batteries, and in the manufacture of magnetic, wear-resistant and high-strength alloys.
The compounds cobalt silicate and cobalt(II) aluminate (CoAl2O4, cobalt blue) give a distinctive deep blue color to glass, ceramics, inks, paints and varnishes.
Cobalt-60 is a commercially important radioisotope, used as a radioactive tracer and for the production of high-energy gamma rays.
Cobalt is also used in the petroleum industry as a catalyst when refining crude oil.
The EV industry is the largest consumer of cobalt, accounting for approximately 40% of total demand
GLOBAL PRODUCTION
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.
World’s leading producers:
1.Democratic Republic of Congo
Indonesia,Russia, Australia
WORLDWIDE RESERVES
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
Largest reserve with
- Democratic republic of Congo
- Australia
- Indonesia
GLOBAL CONSUMPTION
China is the largest consumers of cobalt in the world.
GLOBAL TRADE
EXPORT:
In 2021, the top exporters based on value were
1.DRC
USA, Canada etc.
IMPORTS
In 2021 top importers of gold based on value were
1.China
Japan etc.
India’s import reliance for cobalt: 100% mostly from China.