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| Fig. 1: Pure cobalt. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Global cobalt demand has been booming, tripling in the last decade and expected to double by 2035. [1] Cobalt is used in cell phones, laptops, electric vehicles (EVs), and other electronics. EVs require between 10 and 20 pounds of cobalt for a typical battery, and as their demand over the next decade grows, cobalt demand is expected to grow with it. [2] Cobalt is used as the cathode in lithium ion batteries. [1] While alternative materials for the cathode exist, such as manganese, phosphate, and iron, cobalt is preferred due to its thermal stability and high energy density. [1] The largest source of cobalt is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, marking 60% of the global supply. [2] In 2018, a fifth of global supply came from a single mine: Glencore Plc's Mutanda mine in the Katanga province. [3]
Cobalt is extracted as a byproduct from copper and nickel mining. [4] Copper-cobalt oxide and sulfides go through several processes to ultimately end with pure cobalt or other cobalt compositions. [4] In the Congo, cobalt is found in various forms, each leading to a different refinement process. The most common process includes hydrometallurgical refining to directly produce either a cobalt cathode or hydroxide. [4] In other processes, the mined ore is agitated to separate the minerals in a process called separation flotation. The concentrates can be sold as is or split into two other paths. The concentrate can be roasted to calcine, followed by the same hydrometallurgical refinement, and further processed to result in pure cobalt metal. Alternatively, the concentrate can be smelted to result in copper-cobalt alloys of 85% copper (red alloy) or 20% copper (white alloy). [4] Fig. 1 illustrates pure cobalt that can result from the Copper Belt located in the Congo. In 2020, mining in the Congo produced 85.9 thousand tonnes of mined cobalt, comprising 67.3% of the global share of production. [5] This is a significant drop compared to the 109.4 thousand tonnes that were produced in the Congo in 2018. [5] The Mutanda mine (accounting for a fifth of global production) closed in November 2019 after cobalt prices dropped and is set to reopen again by the end of 2021 as cobalt demand resurges. [3]
The Congo is relied on at a global scale to provide cobalt. While there are several large mines that operate with heavy machinery, a percentage of cobalt is mined through artisanal mining in the Congo. Put simply, artisanal miners are independent from industrial sites, mining in backyards, along the side of the road, or wherever they are able to find the minerals. [2] These miners are not paid salaries, instead earn their pay only on the quantity they are able to extract with whatever tools are at their disposal. [2] They are estimated to be responsible for up to 25% of the world's supply of cobalt. [2] Over the years, efforts have been made to formalize the work of artisanal miners through permits restricting creuseurs (French for diggers) to mine in specific areas titled Artisanal Exploitation Zones (AEZ) and cooperatives. [6] While the permits provided access to a site in a governmental setting, formalization left wage guarantees lacking. In addition to inconsistent daily earnings, artisanal miners are at the risk of the fluctuating global market because their earnings depend on demand from global buyers and their interest in minerals from an industrial mine or artisanal miners. [2] These attempts to formalize the work of artisanal miners are suspected to leave them more susceptible to wage insecurities as price monopolies and power imbalances of cooperatives come into play. [6]
The miners in the Congo, artisanal or industrial, are crucial for the vision many have for the future of electric vehicles. As the markets for EVs, lithium-ion batteries and cobalt transform in the next decade, there will be impacts on the mining communities in the Congo. The relationship between corporate and artisanal miners, whether mutually beneficial or not, is carried in the global market of cobalt.
© Celeste Larios. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] S. Gifford, "Lithium, Cobalt and Nickel: The Gold Rush of the 21st Century," The Faraday Institution, December 2020.
[2] T. C. Frankel, "The Cobalt Pipeline," Washington Post, 30 Sep 16.
[3] M. Kavanagh, "Glencore to Reopen One of the World's Biggest Cobalt Mines in Congo," Bloomberg, 21 Jun 21.
[4] F. K. Crundwell, N.B. du Preez, and B. D. H Knights, "Production of Cobalt from Copper-Cobalt Ores on the African Copperbelt - An overview," Miner. Eng. 156, 106350 (2020).
[5] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2021: Key Minerals," British Petroleum, June 2021.
[6] J. D. Haan and S. Greenen, "Mining Cooperatives in Eastern DRC: The Interplay Between Historical Power Relations and Formal Institutions," Extr. Ind. Soc. 3, 823 (2016).
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