China extends cobalt grip.

market.While there’s enough cobalt supply for now, demand is expected to surge in the coming years and automakers have grown increasingly concerned about getting access to enough of the material. Almost three-quarters of the world’s cobalt comes from Congo.“Despite the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the adoption of new energy vehicles is accelerating, and there is no doubt that they are revolutionizing the world’s automobile industry,” GEM Chairman Xu Kaihua said in a statement. “As a result, cobalt, as one of the key raw materials for EV batteries, will become a global strategic resource of extreme importance.”Tesla earlier this year struck a deal with Glencore to buy cobalt from its Congo mines, while BMW AG has also locked in some supply.GEM and Glencore had a supply deal that ran from 2018 to 2020, but when cobalt prices started plunging, the Chinese company halted purchases, a person familiar with the matter said at the time. QUOTE.
Market heating up as alternate sources are sought IMO.

https://www.mining.com/web/china-inc-extends-cobalt-grip-with-bigger-glencore-deal/