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According to data reported by Research and Markets, the global demand for cobalt will increase by 10 percent from 2018 to 2022. The global consumption for cobalt increased 4.3 percent to 103,000 tons in 2016, driven primarily by rapidly developing lithium-ion battery technologies, around three-quarters of which are set to use cobalt chemicals by 2020.
Due to the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, it is projected for EVs to overtake industrial applications as the highest source of demand for rechargeable batteries. The report also indicates that Cobalt ore mostly comes from copper-nickel associated ores. The two sources take up approximately 85 percent of the total production with reclaimed refined cobalt accounting for 10 percent of it.
A report by Mining Metals, DRC contributes around 60 percent of global cobalt production, and supplies 80 percent of the cobalt used by Chinese chemical refineries. A major concern regarding the increasingly cobalt-reliant battery technology is the humanitarian and geopolitical situation in the country the DRC.
According to the research, "the number of junior mining companies—Canadian firms in particular—have clearly identified the demand for new sources of cobalt, and primary cobalt projects are now starting to garner more attention. Very few 'pure-play' cobalt mines exist, but a growing number of projects are getting underway in response to the opportunity."