Indonesia Becomes the World's Second Largest Cobalt Producer

According to data from the Cobalt Institute in the UK, Indonesia became the world's second largest supplier of cobalt in 2022, accounting for approximately 5% of the global production of this battery material, according to a report by Mining. com citing Reuters.

Cobalt is a key raw material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. In order to achieve emission reduction goals, the sales of this type of battery will accelerate in the future.

According to data from the research institute, Indonesia's cobalt production increased from 2700 tons in 2021 to 9500 tons in 2022.

Indonesia has become the second largest cobalt producing country in the world, surpassing traditional cobalt producing countries such as Australia and the Philippines, "said the Cobalt Research Institute. Indonesia has the potential to increase cobalt production by 10 times before 2030.

In 2021, Australia produced 5900 tons of cobalt, becoming the world's second largest producer of cobalt. In 2022, the country's cobalt production was 7000 tons. Last year, the cobalt production in the Philippines was 5400 tons.

According to data from the Cobalt Research Institute, global cobalt production in 2022 was 198000 tons. Democratic Congo's cobalt production is 145000 tons, accounting for 73% of the world's total production. In the same year, global cobalt consumption was 187000 tons, an increase of 13%.

The supply of cobalt continues to grow while demand is unstable, especially for portable electronic products. From April last year to the end of the year, cobalt prices have halved, "the research institute said.

Last year, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange cobalt contract price fell by more than 60% to $15/lb.

From the detailed data of the research institute, last year, 74000 tons of cobalt were used for electric vehicles, accounting for 40% of the total demand; In 2021, this consumption was 56000 tons, accounting for 34%.