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The cobalt market revisited

Author

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  • Gary A. Campbell

    (Michigan Technological University)

Abstract

The cobalt market is a market that has frequent supply shortages and crises. This paper looks at the changes in the cobalt market from the period of the 1970s to 2018 to gain insights into how the cobalt market is responding and adjusting to periods of supply shortages. Particular concern has arisen due to the potential large increase in the need for cobalt in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Is the supply of cobalt able to grow at the necessary rate to match the projected increase in the production of electric vehicles? The paper finds that some cobalt market adjustments have occurred over the time period in response to supply risk, but these adjustments have not significantly offset the cobalt market characteristics that largely drive its behavior: by-product supply, the large amount of low-cost material in the DR Congo, and the technical advantages of using cobalt in its applications over potential substitutes. The ramifications for post-2018 are probably more of the same behavior. The cobalt market will continue to make incremental adjustments over time as periodic short-run price spikes occur with the corresponding supply “crisis.” The move of the cobalt market to a dominant end use may make the market even more cyclical and prone to supply crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Gary A. Campbell, 2020. "The cobalt market revisited," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 33(1), pages 21-28, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:minecn:v:33:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s13563-019-00173-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s13563-019-00173-8
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rachidi, Ntebatše R. & Nwaila, Glen T. & Zhang, Steven E. & Bourdeau, Julie E. & Ghorbani, Yousef, 2021. "Assessing cobalt supply sustainability through production forecasting and implications for green energy policies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. George Yunxiong Li & Simona Iammarino, 2024. "Critical Raw Materials and Renewable Energy Transition: The Role of Domestic Supply," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2403, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2024.
    3. Becker, Jonathon M., 2021. "General equilibrium impacts on the U.S. economy of a disruption to Chinese cobalt supply," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Gustafsson, Robert & Dutta, Anupam & Bouri, Elie, 2022. "Are energy metals hedges or safe havens for clean energy stock returns?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PA).
    5. Magnus Ericsson & Anton Löf & Olof Löf & Daniel B. Müller, 2024. "Cobalt: corporate concentration 1975–2018," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 37(2), pages 297-311, June.
    6. Violaine Faubert & Nathan Guessé & Julien Le Roux, 2024. "Capital in the Twenty-First Century: Who Owns the Capital of Firms Producing Critical Raw Materials?," Working papers 952, Banque de France.
    7. Rasmus Noss Bang & Lars-Kristian Lunde Trellevik, 2023. "Reserve-dependent capital efficiency, cross-sector competition, and mineral security considerations in mineral industry transition," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 36(3), pages 383-400, September.
    8. Li, George Yunxiong & Ascani, Andrea & Iammarino, Simona, 2024. "The material basis of modern technologies. A case study on rare metals," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    9. Shi, Qing & Sun, Xiaoqi & Xu, Man & Wang, Mengjiao, 2022. "The multiplex network structure of global cobalt industry chain," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cobalt; Lithium-ion batteries; Electric vehicles;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q31 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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