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By: Martin Creamer
7th February 2011
CAPE TOWN (mining weekly.com) – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) wants more refining of cobalt within the DRC itself, says Core Consultants MD Lara Smith.
Smith, who addressed the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, says that, while the DRC hosts more than half of the world’s cobalt reserves, only 5% of cobalt is refined in the region.
In contrast, China, which lacks cobalt reserves, produces nearly 40% of the world’s refined cobalt.
The DRC exports unrefined cobalt ore to China for beneficiation.
“It is this dynamic that the DRC is trying to change so as to encourage fixed investment in the country in the form of beneficiation,” Smith says.
Although cobalt has traditionally been consumed by the super alloys industry to make parts for gas turbine engines, in the last decade growth in the use of cobalt batteries has “usurped” other applications and now accounts for 27% of cobalt consumption.
Roughly 3,6 g of cobalt is required in a cellular phone battery. Since 2005, the number of mobile phone subscribers has increased by three billion to five billion subscribers currently, and “there are still substantial gains to be made in this market”, adds Smith.
miningweekly.com/article/drc-cobalt-2011-02-07
7th February 2011
CAPE TOWN (mining weekly.com) – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) wants more refining of cobalt within the DRC itself, says Core Consultants MD Lara Smith.
Smith, who addressed the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, says that, while the DRC hosts more than half of the world’s cobalt reserves, only 5% of cobalt is refined in the region.
In contrast, China, which lacks cobalt reserves, produces nearly 40% of the world’s refined cobalt.
The DRC exports unrefined cobalt ore to China for beneficiation.
“It is this dynamic that the DRC is trying to change so as to encourage fixed investment in the country in the form of beneficiation,” Smith says.
Although cobalt has traditionally been consumed by the super alloys industry to make parts for gas turbine engines, in the last decade growth in the use of cobalt batteries has “usurped” other applications and now accounts for 27% of cobalt consumption.
Roughly 3,6 g of cobalt is required in a cellular phone battery. Since 2005, the number of mobile phone subscribers has increased by three billion to five billion subscribers currently, and “there are still substantial gains to be made in this market”, adds Smith.
miningweekly.com/article/drc-cobalt-2011-02-07
