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What is cobalt and where is it found?
Cobalt (also cobalt) is a chemical element with the element symbol Co and atomic number 27 in the periodic table. It is a magnetic, conductive and extremely rare metal. It is always found in nature in combination with other metals such as nickel, copper, silver, iron or uranium. Global cobalt reserves are estimated at only 25 million tonnes. The most important deposits are in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia in Central Africa. However, it is also mined in Canada, Australia, Morocco, Cuba, Russia and the USA.
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How expensive is cobalt?
The price of a tonne of cobalt, like many other rare metals, has fluctuated wildly in recent years. While it was around $22,000 (19,000 francs) per ton at the beginning of 2017, it rose to an all-time high of over $95,000 in just one year! The average cost of a ton of cobalt in 2023 was $34,149; this was almost $30,000 less than in 2022. Reason for the price drop: There was an explosion in demand for smartphones, tablets and laptops during the pandemic. But as people became more free, they spent less time in front of screens; the need for consumer electronics and therefore cobalt has decreased. Even the rapidly developing e-mobility has not been able to compensate for this, as most manufacturers require increasingly smaller amounts of raw materials. At the same time, cobalt supplies remain high.
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Where is cobalt used?
Since the early 1990s, for the production of lithium-ion batteries (also interesting: How harmful is lithium, really?) used in all kinds of battery-powered electrical devices, whether Bluetooth boxes, cordless screwdrivers or electric cars. Cobalt is present as cobalt oxide in the positive poles of batteries and provides a more compact design, better conductivity and higher energy density than other materials. It also prevents battery cells from deforming or melting when excessive heat occurs.
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How much cobalt does an electric car need?
Although the first electric devices with lithium-ion batteries appeared on the market in the early 1990s, the need for cobalt only came to public attention approximately 25 years later with the advent of e-mobility. Due to high raw material prices, alternatives were sought early: today nickel and manganese replace much of the cobalt in electric car batteries. In current lithium NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) car batteries, the cathode consists of less than three percent cobalt oxide. The amount of cobalt used also depends largely on the size of the battery: a 50 kWh battery contains about five kilos of cobalt. Some types of batteries, such as cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), do not contain cobalt.
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Where else is cobalt used?
What critics of e-mobility ignore: Only ten percent of cobalt mined worldwide is used for e-cars. More than 35 percent is needed for consumer electronics. Cathodes are still largely made of cobalt oxide, as high energy density combined with small area requirements are important. The other half of the extracted cobalt is required for the chemical industry and metallic compounds, including internal combustion engines. As a component of high-strength alloys, it can be found, for example, in crankshafts and cylinder heads and in the catalytic converters of diesel engines.
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Is cobalt mining dangerous?
The largest quantities accessible worldwide (between 70 and 90 percent) are stored underground in the Katanga province in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Mining has been a tradition here for centuries, as other valuable raw materials such as copper and uranium are also stored in the soil. Tens of thousands of people there work for large international companies that must comply with the same labor standards and supply chain transparency as those in Canada or Australia. Customers, including automobile companies, must ensure that human rights and environmental standards are respected. Cobalt found in drinking water or food is toxic if it exceeds a certain limit. But other metals, such as lead, are much more toxic.
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Is child labor encouraged in cobalt mining?
Images of children in dark wells, some of whom scooped cobalt from the ground with their bare hands, brought the raw material into disrepute. In fact, many families make a living this way: They dig their own tunnels and often send their children to dig for ore. These mining methods are rarely monitored by the government. Additionally, the amount of cobalt extracted this way is very small. However, many automakers currently avoid using cobalt from the Congo because they do not want to be associated with child labor.
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Is cobalt really blue?
The cobalt blue color is known worldwide. The ancient Chinese and Persians were already using cobalt to dye porcelain, glass, or clay blue. However, the blue color comes from cobalt salts or cobalt-aluminum mixed oxide. Because in nature, cobalt pieces are dark, shiny and metallic gray in color. The oxide powder used in batteries is dark black.
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What does cobalt have to do with goblins?
Cobalt is derived from the Latin cobaltum, which translates as goblin. This name comes from the fact that in the Middle Ages cobalt ores were often mixed with valuable silver or copper ores. However, they could not be processed and gave off unpleasant odors when heated. For this reason, goblins were said to eat the precious silver and expel the worthless, silver-coloured ores.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
