@Blusamurai : Interesting article giving a good summary: among the key sentences:
" The China-Congo-Cobalt-nexus poses particular problems for tech companies like Apple and automakers in the US and Europe which have been scrambling to secure supply.
Not only in terms of securing supply but also the growing consumer awareness of ethical sourcing of materials. This could lead to premium pricing for cobalt produced outside Congo. Chinese processors have admitted that they cannot say unequivocally that some of the cobalt in the supply chain is not from child or forced labour."
I believe COB is a very sweet spot. The only commercial Cobalt pure play in Australia ( = Cobalt is not a by-product =not dependant on Nickel/copper prices to make the project profitable) with lower CAPEX and OPEX than australian peers thanks to the nature of the ore (Sulphide) and innovation in the processing. LGI from Korea did not waste time and quickly signed on last month to become COB tech partner while also investing Au$ 7.8M at a 15%premium.
We are all eagerly awaiting COB's PFS in a few weeks. From all the info and hints given by the mgmt in ASX releases, presentations and interviews I am confident the results will be very positive. The mineral resource is there ( and growing ) and the key steps of the refining process have now been validated , derisking the project.
Beyond this it would be wise for Australia to set up an EV battery production facility. Right now China, despite having no cobalt resources of its own, is responsible for 80% of the world’s cobalt chemical production which could lead to a situation like OPEC driving up rices to crazy levels during the old days. If COB can further increase its output (we should know by DFS time) + processes neighbours ore it may be able to produce enough Cobalt Sulphate to justify an EV battery factory with LGI as technical/ financial partner .LGI has the know how as it is in the top 5 producers of EV batteries in the world. The Cobalt boom is just starting and it is becoming a very strategic metal.
COB Price at posting:
$1.24 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
