Cobalt Miners News For The Month Of March 2019

Mar. 26, 2019 9:46 AM ET

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Includes: AEOMF, AMSLF, ARRRF, ARTTF, AZRMF, BBBMF, BHP, BKTPF, BRCSF, BRVVF, CBBHF, CBLLF, CMCLF, CSSQF, CTEQF, ECSIF, FCX, FQVLF, FTMDF, FTSSF, GBLEF, GLCNF, GMRSF, HLPCF, HNLMF, IIDDY, KATFF, KBGCF, MCRZF, MLXEF, NDENF, NILSY, NMREF, NZRIF, OZMLF, PANRF, PLM, PTNUF, RGARF, RNKLF, SHERF, SMMYY, SNNAF, UMICY, USCFF, WCTXF

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Summary

Cobalt spot prices were slightly lower in March. Most market participants spoken to by Fastmarkets expect cobalt at $15 per lb to be a good buy in the long term.

Cobalt market news - DRC bans, then reverses ban, of cobalt concentrate exports. Boss Mine in the DRC and Chambishi smelter (Zambia) put on care and maintenance.

Cobalt miners news - Glencore is reducing cobalt output, Katanga posts a Q4 loss, Sherritt will not fund its 12% share of a US$45 million cash call from the Ambatovy JV.

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Welcome to the March 2019 cobalt miner news. The past month saw cobalt prices slightly lower with some signs of stabilizing as supply cuts from DRC and Namibia start to kick in. Strong electric car sales and NMC cathode growth in China are boosting demand. Meanwhile, low cobalt prices are causing big changes with the cobalt miners.

Cobalt price news

As of March 21, the cobalt spot price was US$13.61, slightly down from US14.06/lb last month. The LME cobalt price is US$29,000/tonne. The London Metals Exchange [LME] had no fresh cobalt inventory data available this month. More details on cobalt pricing (in particular the more relevant cobalt sulphate) can be found here at Metals Bulletin.

Cobalt spot prices - 1-year chart - USD 13.61/lb

Source: InfoMine.com

Cobalt demand and supply

On March 1, Bloomberg reported:

How the cobalt market fell victim to allure of electric cars. Record cobalt prices unleashed a modern-day gold rush in Congo... Thousands of small-scale miners scrambled to exploit rich mineral deposits, often working illegally in dangerous makeshift pits, where ore is extracted by hand. Supply from these so-called artisanal miners more than doubled between 2016 and 2018, according to trading house Darton Commodities... Glencore is confident market will rebound after ‘blip’ in 2018.