The article said that most of these wholesalers are Chinese, who later sold the raw materials to Chinese companies that shipped cobalt-laden packages to China for processing into rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in laptops , Smart phones and electric cars.
The article said that now the world is set off competition for cobalt supply chain, so far, China is far ahead.With the increase in production of electric vehicles, the global demand for cobalt is also likely to rise further.
▲ Metal Cobalt (Wikipedia)
Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, while China is the largest consumer of Congo. According to Darton Commodities, about 94% of the cobalt produced in West African countries is exported to Chinese smelters.
Trang Mel, chief executive of Toronto-based exploration company First Cobalt Corp., said the company is beginning to realize that Congo's significance for EVs is the same as Saudi's significance for internal combustion engines, saying Chinese companies are acutely aware that the Congo is " The importance of cars, from cobalt mining to battery production, is trying to take control of the entire ecosystem.
▲ staff in the assembly line for the lithium-ion battery chips to wear rivets.
The article said that China has long become the world's largest EV market in 2011. China listed the EV industry as one of the seven strategic emerging industries and the development of a domestic battery industry has become an important part of the government's supportive plan.
The article concludes that Chinese companies now dominate the first steps in the production of lithium-ion batteries, which make up about 77% of the market for refined cobalt chemicals, according to the CRU Group, a commodities research firm. Year 67% .Hupell CRU consultant, said Chinese companies may soon occupy more than 90% market share.
The article said that about 54% of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Congo, while Chinese companies dominate the network of middlemen who buy cobalt from a large number of free miners in markets such as Kolwezi.
▲ a copper and cobalt mine in the Congo territory (Getty Images)
The article said that almost no demand for commodities rose faster than cobalt.Co cobalt is a by-product of copper and nickel.According to the United States Geological Survey data show that since 2000, the global cobalt production has tripled to 123,000 tons /year.
While demand growth is even faster, according to data from research firm Wood-Mackenzie that cobalt demand is expected to reach more than 200,000 metric tons by 2025. Electric vehicles are a major cause of the surge in cobalt demand Morgan Stanford It is estimated that the use of cobalt in electric vehicles will be about 1,300 tons in 2014. This figure is expected to increase to 11,300 tons this year and 63,000 tons in 2025.
These expectations have led to a more than doubling of cobalt prices in London's markets in the past year, according to Thomson Reuters figures, which show that cobalt prices have risen by more than 230% since the end of 2015.
Jack, an analyst at London-based intelligence firm Roskilde who tracks cobalt, said the cobalt market will face some serious problems if the company forecasts the electric vehicle accurately, and tight supply will allow China to gain access to its strong position in the cobalt supply chain Another advantage.
According to data from Darton Commodities, China's National Materials Reserve stock reserves of cobalt reserves of about 5,000 tons, about 15 days of global supply.
Milleshski, chief executive of Cobalt 27 Capital Corp., said it is clear that the Chinese market wants to become a core force in electric vehicles.
The article said that the global battery production capacity of about 110 gigawatts per year, mainly for consumer electronics, electric vehicles and electricity storage.In the past year, China has announced a number of plans to increase over the next three to four years, more than 150 GigaWhite capacity, which is three times the current capacity, dwarfs Tesla's 'super factory' in the Nevada desert, which plans to add 35 gigawatts of capacity by 2020.
Sivalam, a science and technology researcher at the U.S.-China Foreign Relations Association, said that China controls most of the world's solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.