Broken Hill global cobalt province., page-974

Agree @fup they will continue to churn out cobalt and do everything possible to make it hard for the west to break the cartel. Would China want a high or low product price.......

I know ethical is a popular cobalt word, even used by COB itself, however I am not sure the "ethical" argument is important or actionable. The problem, if we are to believe the Western aligned governments is more about control, if altruism did exist here, I think self interest would trump it.

China accounts for 76 percent of global refined cobalt production. For chemical refining used for batteries, the amount is even higher, at 91 percent of global production. Indonesia is the world's second largest cobalt supplier, all of its cobalt is refined by China. Total control will always allow for opaque supplies and opaque pricing, histories playbook tells us any new western critical minerals prospect has been crushed by flooding the market, real or otherwise.

Indonesia is a bit more interesting because they have indicated they would like to diversify from their total dependance on Chinese refining, if only they had an option.

If one believes the US IRA and the EU Green Industrial Policy (both legislated) will eventuate, then a reasonable argument IMO exists to hold exposure to Western cobalt. Similarly if you feel these Western initiatives are unlikely to succeed then Western cobalt may not be a reasonable hold.

Cheers
Phil.