Cobalt – CRI Report

Research Report on Global and China’s Cobalt Industries, 2019-2023

admin — Thu, 30 May 2019 06:35:53 +0000

Description
The industry chain of cobalt mainly includes cobalt ore mining and dressing (upstream), cobalt smelting and processing (midstream) and terminal utilization of cobalt (downstream). In the upstream, Congo (Kinshasa) accounts for nearly half of the global cobalt ore reserves and production; in the midstream, China contributes nearly half to global production capacity and production volume of cobalt salts, cobalt and cobalt powder; in the downstream, cobalt is applied in batteries, high-temperature alloys, cemented carbides, magnetic materials, etc.
By the end of 2018, global cobalt reserves totaled about 7 million tons, 3.30 million tons or 40% of which were in Congo (Kinshasa). Australia, Cuba. etc. accounted for 5% to 15% respectively while China only accounted for only about 1%. However, Chinese enterprises ranked the first in the world in terms of production volume.
In 2018, the global production volume of cobalt was about 145,000 tons, increasing by nearly 20% YOY. The production volume of cobalt in Congo (Kinshasa) was about 106,000 tons, increasing by over 40% YOY. Cobalt production expanded rapidly in Congo (Kinshasa) mainly because Glencore’s KCC project produced 11,000 tons of cobalt in 2018 after it resumed production and other major cobalt mines increased production in varying degrees. But as the cobalt produced by the KCC project in 2018 and 2019 contains excessive uranium, it cannot be put on the spot market at present. In 2018, the global production volume of refined cobalt reached 126,000 tons, increasing by about 9% YOY. In China, the production volume of refined cobalt exceeded 80,000 tons and the market demand exceeded 60,000 tons. Besides, cobalt demand also increased. However, global cobalt prices dropped sharply in 2018 because of oversupply.
In recent years, global cobalt production stay above 100,000 tons/year and cobalt demand is also small. Therefore, cobalt prices can be easily manipulated to soar or slump, which is different from copper, aluminum, lead, zinc and other bulk commodities.
According to CRI, cobalt is mostly used in battery materials. It is estimated that in 2018, more than 50% of global cobalt consumption was attributable to the materials for 3C batteries, energy storage batteries, power batteries for new energy vehicles and other batteries. In recent years, China is the world’s largest producer and seller of electric vehicles. In 2018, battery materials accounted for about 80% cobalt consumption in China.
If there is no major technological innovation, the cobalt demand from cemented carbides, high-temperature alloys and magnetic materials will remain stable in the next few years. And battery materials will be the largest growth driver for the cobalt demand from 2019 to 2023.
It is expected that li-ion batteries for electric vehicles will be the largest growth area for cobalt consumption in the battery sector. In recent years, the global production volume of electric vehicles has been growing fast at a growth rate far exceeding that of traditional vehicles. In 2018, the production volume of electric vehicles in China reached about 1.29 million units, increasing by 60% as compared to 2017. The demand for cobalt, an important raw material for electric vehicle batteries, will grow rapidly. Power batteries have taken up the largest proportion of the downstream applications of cobalt.
As global new energy vehicle industry is developing rapidly, the global cobalt demand will also continue to rise. It is expected that from 2019 to 2023, the global production volume of new energy vehicles will grow at a CAGR of over 30%, the cobalt demand from ternary materials will grow at a CAGR of over 50% and the demand for energy storage lithium batteries will grow at a CAGR of nearly 50%. Meanwhile, ternary batteries will see an increase in penetration rate and their demand for cobalt will grow at a CAGR of 100%. The cobalt demand from 3C batteries and industrial batteries will maintain a CAGR of 2% to 3%. Overall, the CAGR of global cobalt demand will stay around 10% from 2019 to 2023.

Topics covered:
– Development environment for the cobalt industry
– Supply of and demand for cobalt on global and Chinese markets
– Analysis on major downstream industries of cobalt
– Price trend of cobalt
– Major cobalt mining and smelting enterprises and downstream enterprises in China and the world
– Driving forces and market opportunities for the cobalt industry from 2019 to 2023
– Threats and challenges to the cobalt industry from 2019 to 2023
– Prospect of global and China’s cobalt industries from 2019 to 2023

The post Research Report on Global and China’s Cobalt Industries, 2019-2023 first appeared on CRI Report.

Report on Global and China’s Cobalt Industry, 2018-2022

admin — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 09:05:39 +0000

Description
Cobalt is an important raw material for superalloy, cemented carbide, diamond tool, batteries, anticorrosive and magnetic materials. It is widely applied in fields including aerospace, electronic appliances, machinery manufacturing, automobiles, chemical industry, agriculture, ceramics, etc.
Global cobalt reserves reached 7.2 million tons by the end of 2016, among which Kinshasa of Congo DRC owned 3.4 million tons, accounting for 47% — the largest proportion in the world. The rest was shared by countries as Australia and Cuba, with proportions of 14% and 7%. China owned only 1.1% of the global reserve. However, Canada ranked the first in production volume, taking up 7% of the global figure, followed by China and Russia both with a share of 6%.
CRI analysis reveals that the difference is caused mainly due to backward infrastructure in Congo and a lack of smelting and deep-processing enterprises in Australia. Major cobalt ore producers mentioned above commonly export the materials to China, Finland and other countries for further smelting and deep-processing. Therefore, global production of refined cobalt is inconsistent with the distribution of cobalt reserves. The production volume of cobalt in China was approximately 650 tons in 2016, most of which was extracted from imported ore.
Cobalt mines and reclaimed refined cobalt are major sources of cobalt metal in the world. Cobalt ore mostly comes from copper-nickel associated ores. The two sources take up approximately 85% of the total production with reclaimed refined cobalt accounting for 10% of it. Production volume of cobalt in Glencore, Freeport-McMoran, Eurasian Natural Resources and Vale amounts to approximately 50% among major global manufacturers.
The production volume of refined cobalt exhibits a stable growth in general. The global production volume reached 93,900 tons despite a slight drop in 2016. The trend of refined cobalt in China grows in consistency with that of the world. The production volume in China reached 45,000 tons in 2016, accounting for 47.92% of the global volume. With its market status continuously rising, China’s cobalt industry will exert an increasing influence on the global market. Driven by the fast-growing demand in lithium batteries in China in the early 21st century, demand for cobalt has been released in a short time. As a result, cobalt was in short supply in successive years from 2006 to 2008. However, cobalt prices were slashed by the financial crisis in 2008. Focused efforts were made to improve cobalt production capacity in 2009, resulting in a serious surplus in cobalt supply across the globe. In recent years, a balance has been struck again in global supply and demand of cobalt and the demand is exceeding the supply.
The global consumption volume of cobalt approached 103,000 tons in 2016, with a year-on-year increase of 4.3%. The downstream demand of global cobalt industry was occupied by battery demand and industrial demand of 54% and 46% respectively. Demand for batteries was mainly derived from that for 3C batteries, power batteries and energy storage batteries, among which 3C batteries accounted for 87% of the total, power batteries accounted for 12% and energy storage batteries represented a small portion. Industrial demand is mainly derived from that for superalloy, cemented carbide and ceramics.
Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles is estimated to experience the largest increase in consumption of battery-used cobalt. Global production volume of electric vehicles grows exponentially in recent years, with a growth rate far higher than that of traditional automobiles. The production volume in China reached 710,000 units in 2017, up by 30% over the previous year. As major raw material for electric vehicles, cobalt is expected to boast a rapid growth. Moreover, power batteries account for the largest proportion in the downstream application of cobalt. In the application of lithium batteries, cobalt is mainly applied in LCO, NCA and NCM, among which LCO is primarily used in consumer electronics and NCM is primarily used in consumer electronics and power batteries. Presently, the application of cobalt in battery is still dominated by LCO. NCM materials are expected to become a bursting point of demand for cobalt along with the development and prevalence of new energy vehicles.
According to CRI analysis, China is a major cobalt smelting country and has strong demand for cobalt. However, its cobalt reserve accounts for a mere 1.1% (80,000 tons) of the world’s reserve. Kinshasa of Congo DRC has the largest reserve of cobalt and is China’s major cobalt ore supplier. Cobalt ore can be classified as four major types, namely copper-cobalt ore, nickel-cobalt ore, siller-cobalt ore and cobalt-bearing pyrite, with cobalt usually mixed in the ore. With the decline in prices of copper, nickel and other metal, reduction of production or halt of production in mines are on the increase. As a result, the growth rate in production volume experienced a notable decline. In addition, political instability has been bothering Congo DRC since 2017, which is likely to result in a lowered production volume or even a shrinking supply of cobalt ore.
With rapid development in new energy vehicle industry, the global market will demand more for cobalt. It is estimated that the CAGR of production volume of new energy vehicles will exceed 30% and the CAGR of demand for cobalt for NCM-use will reach 50% from 2018 to 2022. The CAGR of demand for lithium batteries in terms of energy storage will reach 50% from 2018 to 2022. NCM is also predicted to have a higher penetration in the market from 2018 to 2022, with an CAGR in demand for cobalt of 100%. The demand for cobalt of lithium batteries in 3C and industrial application will maintain a CAGR of 2% to 3% from 2018 to 2022. It is estimated that the global demand for cobalt will stay at 10% from 2018 to 2022.

Readers can Obtain the Following Information Through this Report:
-Development Environment of Cobalt Industry
-Supply and Demand of Cobalt in China and the World
-Analysis on Major Downstream Demand
-Price Trend of Cobalt
-Major Cobalt Smelting Enterprises in China and the World
-Driving Forces and Market Opportunities of Cobalt Industry in China and the World, 2018-2022
-Threats and Challenges in Cobalt Industry in China and the World, 2018-2022
-Prospect of Cobalt Industry in China and the World, 2018-2022

The post Report on Global and China’s Cobalt Industry, 2018-2022 first appeared on CRI Report.