Factbox: Chinese and other cobalt mines boosting output despite price slide

Jervois Global

06/12/2023 14:15

Dec 6 (Reuters) - A fall in the price of cobalt, a
silvery-blue metal used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries,
electronics and the defence sector, has yet to deter many
Chinese-owned and other mines from expanding or maintaining
output.
    Most of the expansions are in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), the dominant producer with nearly 70% of global
supply, but Indonesia is a growth area.
    Some projects have been delayed because of the weak prices
and major producer Glencore has said it may trim output.
    Below are the status of current and future cobalt
operations.

    DELAYS, POSSIBLE CUTS
    Glencore's  GLEN.L  CEO said in August the company had
stockpiled material and would consider cutting production in
response to weak prices, although so far production has remained
steady.
    The company owns the Mutanda copper-cobalt operation in
Congo, the world's biggest cobalt mine, which along with other
operations pumped 32,500 metric tonnes of cobalt in 2023 to
end-September, largely unchanged from last year. 
        
    Chemaf SA was expanding its Etoile open cast copper-cobalt
mine in Congo and building a new one, Mutoshi, before putting
itself up for sale in response to high debt, inflation and low
cobalt prices. 
    The two operations were due to produce 4,000 and 16,000 tons
of cobalt annually respectively and were 85% complete, but
analysts expect the launch to be delayed. 
    
    Jervois Global  JRV.AX  in March suspended final
construction of its Idaho cobalt operations, which would be the
only U.S. primary cobalt mine, citing weak prices. It was
expected to produce 2,000 metric tons a year.
    
    CHINESE COMPANIES IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO 
    The Chinese-owned CMOC Group  603993.SS , the world's second
biggest cobalt producer, owns the huge Tenke Fungurume
copper-cobalt mine and is ramping up its new Kisanfu operation.
    The company said it expected to produce up to 54,000 tons of
cobalt this year, more than doubling last's year's 20,286 tons
and making it the world's biggest producing company, overtaking
Glencore.
    
    MMG Group  1208.HK  added cobalt production to its portfolio
this year with the expansion at its Kinsevere copper mine in
Congo, which is expected to produce 4,000-6,000 tons of cobalt a
year. 
    
    Jinchuan Group International Resources  2362.HK  owns the
open-cast Ruashi copper-cobalt operations and is developing the
underground Musonoi mine in Congo. The company's cobalt output
is expected to jump 76% to 10,000 tons in 2024, Hong-Kong based
Valuable Capital said in note.

    Wanbao Mining, a subsidiary of state-owned Chinese military
supplier Norinco, launched production in 2021 of cobalt
hydroxide - a chemical used in EV batteries - from its Pumpi
mine in Congo. Pumpi is designed to produce around 5,000 tonnes
of cobalt hydroxide per year on a metal content basis.

    In addition to the Chinese expansion in DRC, Kazakhstan's
Eurasian Resources Group plans to revive its Comide copper,
cobalt mine in Congo and complete a hydrometallurgical plant by
2025, aiming to produce 15,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide
annually.
    The Metalkol RTR operation processes tailing deposits and
produced 20,718 tons of cobalt in 2021.
    
    INDONESIA
    Indonesia has become the world's second biggest cobalt
producing country, with the potential to boost output by more
than 10 times by 2030, the Cobalt Institute estimates. 
    The country's new high pressure acid leach (HPAL) nickel
projects produce cobalt as a byproduct in mixed hydroxide
precipitate (MHP), an intermediate product that can be converted
into nickel sulphate used in making batteries for EVs. 
    
    PT Halmahera Persada Lygend  NCKL.JK , with partner China's
Lygend Resources  2245.HK  launched the country's first HPAL
operation in 2021. Its third phase is due in late 2023 and will
have a total capacity of 14,250 tons of cobalt when fully
operational. 

    A joint venture of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt  603799.SS ,
Tsingshan Holding Group and CMOC started shipping production in
February 2022 and has capacity of 7,800 tons of cobalt a year. 
    
    Another HPAL project at Huafei involving Zhejiang Huayou
Cobalt, was commissioned in June with annual capacity of 15,000
tons of cobalt in mixed MHP.  
        
    PT QMB New Energy Materials' HPAL joint venture operation,
majority owned by GEM Co Ltd  002340.SZ , launched production
last year and aims to produce 4,000 tons of cobalt a year.
    
    Merdeka Battery Materials  MBMA.JK  has two HPAL joint
ventures, one with China's GEM Co. that targets production at
the end of 2024. Another with battery maker CATL  300750.SZ  is 
expected to launch in late 2025.    
   
    The Pomalaa joint venture of PT Vale Indonesia  INCO.JK ,
U.S. carmaker Ford  F.N  and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, is due to
launch in 2026 and produce 120,000 tons per year of MHP, but it
did not specify how of cobalt that contained.

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China turbo charges cobalt mine output despite price crash   
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 (Reporting by Eric Onstad; editing by Barbara Lewis)
 ((eric.onstad@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7093; Twitter https://twitter.com/reutersEricO;
 Reuters Messaging: eric.onstad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))