Japanese battery makers are starting to show their hands with cobalt supply (they won't want to be left behind by the Chinese and Koreans):
News out last week that the Barra resources (BAR) and Conico (CNJ) Mt thirsty JV is in talks with Japanese Trading houses over off-take and financing. http://www.argusmedia.com/news/article/?id=1644502. Mt Thirsty has a JORC resource, and a costed scoping study for what looks to be the lowest CAPEX to resources size cobalt mine in Aus - $230Mil for 30Mt cobalt + nickel.
Japanese trading houses (check them out on Wikipedia) have massive financial resources, enormous global connections, and a history of funding mines with a long-term horizon.
Sumitomo is the obvious contender for a deal with an Australia miner - they are one of the world's biggest refined cobalt and battery grade nickel producers, supplying Panasonic and Tesla among others. And they have offices here, and already fund mines.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. (SMM) is a subsidiary of the Sumitomo Group, one of Japan's largest keiretsu, or business enterprises.
A large smelter and refiner of copper, nickel and gold, SMM has a 27.5 percent stake in the Ambatovy Nickel Project in Madagascar, along with Sherritt International and Korea Resources Corp.
The company's Niihama Nickel Refinery electrolytic nickel and cobalt in Japan. It's 2014 production increase over 25 percent from the year prior to 3,654MT.
