value of cobalt at mutooroo higher than copper

Someday, the value of cobalt at Mutooroo may be more valuable than its copper!!


It isn't as hot as uranium (re: CUY) or as precious as gold (re: Portia) but cobalt's profile could continue to grow in the coming years. The price has almost doubled from US$16 to US$30 per pound these past few months due to supply issues and steady buyers. Prices may also rise to US$40 by the end of calendar 2007. Demand will exceed production through to the end of 2008, due to limited new production starting up (see Bloomberg article below).

It is becoming apparent that there is huge potential for companies positioned to provide a stable supply of cobalt. Demand is increasing into what is a very tight physical market, and there is real fear that current supply could be constricted.


The issue at hand for investors though, is that there are precious few public Australian cobalt companies.

Development of the Mutooroo (copper-cobalt) project should fill that gap!

IMHO, Mutooroo should become the largest cobalt producer in Australia before the end of calendar 2008.
I doubt the above have been factored into the current HAV share price.

Note: the 24 Jan 2007 StockAnalysis research report ‘valuation’ uses US$18 per pound at a FX rate below A$/US$0.80 for Mutooroo.


Fri Apr 13, 2007
Cobalt Price Forecast Raised 67% by Credit Suisse as Use Surges
Publisher: Bloomberg
Author: Alistair Holloway

April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group raised its price forecast for cobalt, a metal produced as a byproduct of copper and nickel, by 67 percent because of rising demand for the metal in the aerospace and gas-to-liquid industries.

Cobalt will average $25 a pound this year, compared with a previous forecast of $15, Switzerland's second-largest bank said in an April 12 report. Cobalt with 99.8 percent traded this week at $30.625, according to data from publisher Metal Bulletin. Prices may rise to $40 by the end of 2007, Credit Suisse said.

The metal is an ingredient in high-temperature alloys used in jet engines. Cobalt is also used in catalysts that help to turn gas into liquid fuel, and in rechargeable batteries.

The bank said it expects ''new demand from emerging markets, such as China and India, where the launch of low-cost airlines in air travel and mobile phone usage are set to multiply among an expanding middle class.''

Cobalt stockpiles will fall and potential supplies from new projects may be delayed, London-based Credit Suisse analysts Eily Ong, Jeremy Gray, Hannah Kirby and Ephrem Ravi said in the report.

Demand will exceed production through to the end of 2008, due to limited new production starting up, Credit Suisse said.