# Cobalt

A by-product of copper and nickel that jet engines and many lithium-ion batteries need; three-quarters of it comes from one country.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/

Battery & magnet · No. 28

- EU strategic
- EU critical 2023
- US critical 2025
- India critical 2023
- HHI 5,706 · highly concentrated
 Battery & magnet · Foundation · Matter

Three-quarters of the world's cobalt comes from one country, DR Congo, mostly as a by-product of copper.

Chart: Illustration: Cobalt

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Most cobalt comes from copper ores in southern DR Congo, where grades can reach 10-15%, far richer than elsewhere. The rest comes from nickel mines in Indonesia, Australia, Canada and Russia.

##### Three things to know

1. By 2020 Chinese companies financed or owned 15 of DR Congo's 19 cobalt mines.
2. Congo's 2026-27 export quota of up to 96,600 tonnes a year is about 42% of its 2025 output.
3. Seafloor nodules may hold 5 billion tonnes of cobalt, against about 25 million tonnes on land.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Ore**Congolese copper-cobalt or nickel laterite
2. 2 **Concentrate or leach**Floated, or dissolved in acid
3. 3 **Hydroxide**Cobalt hydroxide or other intermediate
4. 4 **Refining**Sulfate, oxide or metal, mostly in China
5. 5 **End uses**Battery cathodes, superalloys, carbides
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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/links/index.md)