COBALT

What Is Cobalt And Where Do I Use It?

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• Cobalt is a relatively abundant metal element which is almost always found in combination with other naturally occurring minerals.

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• It is naturally occurring and exists in the environment in soil/dust/rocks and in vegetation. It is an essential dietary element for the growth of animals and micro-organisms.​

Metallurgical applications include:

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• Cobalt’s exceptional high temperature strength and corrosion-resistance make it an essential alloying element for jet engine and electrical power generation turbines (improving combustibility and reducing fuel consumption), specialty high strength steel for medical/scientific instrumentation and hard facing alloys in abrasive applications (e.g. bulldozer scoops).
   

• Other uses are orthopaedic hip and knee implants, jewellery for fine detailed casting, as a binding agent for hard metal (tungsten and diamond) cutting and drilling tools or in permanent magnets for ABS breaking systems in automobiles.

 

Chemical applications include:

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• Cobalt is a key part of the lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles.

 

• Cobalt is also used in electronic devices, jet engines and renewable energy storage. 

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• Additional cobalt chemical properties allow for hard wearing and abrasion resistance, advanced pigment solutions and various other uses.

 

Where is Cobalt Produced?

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• Total world reserves of cobalt are estimated to be around 8.3 million tons. 

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• 90& of cobalt is mined as a by product of copper or nickel.
   

• Cobalt is mined in several countries, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being the largest producer. 

More on Cobalt

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• Cobalt is highly recyclable. 

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• Cobalt is a ‘technology enabler’ used mostly in the workplace.

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• Cobalt is indispensable to enhance the many metallurgical and chemical applications.
   

• Cobalt cannot be substituted in most of its key applications, due to its unique properties .
   

•  The potential socio-economic impact and regulatory efficiency of policies or regulatory measures on critical raw materials must be well understood before they are proposed.

 

Applications