Cobalt Prices Slump Even as China Ramps Up Imports and the U.S. Declares National Emergency Over Critical Materials Supply Chains

Neither China’s recent cobalt buying binge nor a declaration of a state of emergency by U.S. President Donald Trump about securing the supply chains for strategic minerals, including cobalt, have been enough to boost the price of the chemical element, which is used to make batteries for electric cars and other electronics.

As of last week, the cobalt spot price was $14.96 per pound, down from $15.41 last month.

The bulk of the world’s cobalt supply is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where Chinese mining interests increasingly dominate both extraction and processing of this vital resource.

Strategic Minerals: A New Front in the U.S.-China Conflict

  • CHINA STOCKPILING: China’s cobalt metal imports hit a record high in August. A total of 1,130 tonnes of cobalt was delivered to China in August, an increase of 245% from the prior month and 421% higher than the same month of last year, according to Chinese customs data. August’s volume is the highest monthly amount ever. (FAST MARKETS)
  • U.S. EXECUTIVE ORDER: “I [Donald Trump] determine that our Nation’s undue reliance on critical minerals, in processed or unprocessed form, from foreign adversaries constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.” (THE WHITE HOUSE)

For more on this story, read Matt Bohlsen’s Cobalt Miners News For The Month Of October 2020 on the Seeking Alpha website.

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The post Cobalt Prices Slump Even as China Ramps Up Imports and the U.S. Declares National Emergency Over Critical Materials Supply Chains appeared first on The China Africa Project.



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