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

1. Democratic republic of Congo
2. Australia
3. 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.