![]() ![]() The Katanga Province is a particularly productive region, home to some of the world’s biggest cobalt mines including Mutanda, Kamoto, Etoile and Ruashi. Many of the world’s largest mining companies have set up operations in the country as they seek to secure supplies of this increasingly sought-after commodity. Democratic Republic of Congo – 100,000 tonnesĬongo accounted for more than 70% of the world’s entire cobalt production in 2019, totalling around 100,000 tonnes. The world’s largest cobalt-producing countriesġ. Here, NS Energy profiles eight of the world’s top cobalt-producing countries, as of 2019. Globally, there are an estimated seven million tonnes of measured cobalt reserves, more than half of which are based in the African country. It was first discovered in 1739 by Swedish chemist and mineralogist Georg Brandt, and derives its name from the German word “kobald”, meaning goblin.Īccording to data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), around 140,000 metric tonnes of cobalt were produced worldwide during 2019 – more than 70% of which cam from a single country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Central Africa.Ĭobalt is commonly mined as a by-product of copper or nickel, although small-scale artisanal mining has become an increasingly common method of extraction, particularly in the DRC. The silvery-blue metal is used in the manufacture of many types of electronics, but perhaps most importantly as an ingredient of the rechargeable batteries that are used to power a fast-growing fleet of electric vehicles (EVs). The world’s largest cobalt-producing countries supply a resource that is growing in significance as efforts accelerate to cut carbon emissions through deep electrification. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the clear leader among the world's top cobalt-producing countries, accounting for more than 70% of global output in 2019Īerial view of the Murrin Murrin cobalt and nickel facility in Australia (Credit: Minara Resources/Glencore)
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