Okay found some other information on the...

Okay found some other information on the subject...

https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/cobalt/cobalt-supply-security.pdf

"In 2015, an estimated 43 percent of world cobalt production was from copper mining and 44 percent was from nickel mining"

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/23/why-companies-are-scrambling-for-the-once-little-known-element-cobalt.html

"In 2017, about 69 percent of the world's cobalt was mined as a copper byproduct and 29 percent as a nickel byproduct."

So I think what we are seeing here is a result of the last 4-5 year slump in the Nickel industry with mines going offline and hence Cobalt byproduct reducing.

It would be fair to say that if Nickel returns to previous highs and production ramps on the back of it, which by all accounts is a possibility, the percentage of global Cobalt byproduct produced would increase above the 29% level back towards the 40 to 50% level.

However I believe it will be a slow and gradual rise over the next few years so no immediate impact on Cobalt pricing or CLA's bottom line unless your in for the long haul. Glencore being one of the largest Nickel producers have indicated a slow return of supply so not to damage the fickle Nickel price in an effort to make it more sustainable. For others like the ones I mentioned earlier it will be a matter of timing it perfectly whilst also trying to be first back to production and they seem to be blowing the dust off the assets as we speak.

There is no doubt though that it will fill some of the Cobalt demand however unless the 8-1-1 tech goes mainstream sooner than expected it appears there will still be a Cobalt supply issue for the foreseeable future.

An interesting article if anyone is interested on Nickel vs Cobalt:

http://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel-v-cobalt-the-secret-ev-battle-for-the-lithium-ion-battery/