CLA - Cobalt related news, page-2935

What is the human cost of mining cobalt in DRC?

Since those heady days cobalt has crashed and burned as production, both official-sector and artisanal, has risen and speculative inventory has been unwound. The price is currently at $27,050.

That alone is expected to squeeze out much of DRC's swing artisanal supply, limiting the market shift into surplus.



Analysts at Citi forecast the market to remain in surplus over 2019-2022 to the tune of between 4,000 and 14,000 tonnes per year.

“However post-2022 with mine supply growth slowing, cobalt demand from EVs rising rapidly, and work in progress inventories rising notably, we expect the balances to shift into significant deficit, and prices to rise back to $80,000 per tonne and potentially higher,” Citi says.