cobalt mining background

Why Cobalt Mining in the DRC Needs Urgent Attention

More than 70 percent of the world's cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and 15 to 30 percent of the Congolese cobalt is produced by artisanal and small-scale mining ...


The harsh realities of mining cobalt for EV batteries

KCC is the largest cobalt-producing mine in the world. Located in the heart of the DRC's Katangan Copperbelt, each year, the mine churns out over 20,000 tons of the silvery metal used in cell ...


Cobalt powers our lives. What is it—and why is it so …

By Kara Norton. December 21, 2023. Cobalt is essential for powering our modern technology. The metal is commonly used to make lithium-ion batteries, which are found in items such as electric ...


Chasm between copper, cobalt and nickel exploration

MINING's sister company MiningIntelligence studied the 65 global properties with exposure to copper, cobalt and nickel globally that had feasibility studies completed in the last five years ...


Quantifying the life-cycle health impacts of a cobalt …

The first two are accidents in artisanal cobalt mining in the DRC based on the two different fatality estimates used in the study — the higher estimate at 2000 fatalities/year and the more conservative media reporting of 65 fatalities/year. ... The Ecoinvent database has the explicit aim of providing background data to LCA studies …


One hundred years of cobalt production in the …

October 3, 2022. Cobalt is an indispensable element for the manufacture of strategic technologies including advanced batteries, jet engines, rare-earth permanent magnets, …


10 Largest Cobalt Mining Companies and Their Mines in the …

Panoramic Resources Ltd is a diversified metal and mining company based in Australia, focused on exploring and developing nickel, cobalt, and copper resources. The company wholly owns the Savannah ...


Cobalt Statistics and Information | U.S. Geological Survey

Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow of the mineral commodity cobalt. Cobalt (Co) is a metal used in numerous diverse commercial, industrial, and military applications, many of which are strategic and critical. On a global basis, the leading use of cobalt is in rechargeable battery electrodes.


Hidden Risks in Cobalt Supply Chain: Environmental, Social …

By Zhang Dingyuan, Ge Xiaomei, Xia Tiemu, Li Jiada and Hou Jiahao CMOC, China Molybdenum, which is listed in the Hong Kong stock exchange market, is a flagship Chinese mining company, and its cobalt production accounts for 14% of the global cobalt production. Its cobalt mining supply comes almost entirely from its Tenke …


Digging deep into the human side of cobalt mining

The DRC is saturated with conflict, hardship, and disorganisation, especially in the mining sector. It is also the world's main supplier of cobalt, making it a pinch point for many sustainability issues. Cobalt is heavily ingrained into our daily lives. It is found in electric vehicle batteries, laptops, smartphones, super alloys, magnets ...


Understanding Cobalt's Human Cost

After studying the impacts of mining cobalt — a common ingredient in lithium-ion batteries — on communities in Africa's Democratic Republic of the Congo …


2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas: Background: Deep-sea Mining

Commercial deep-sea mining is presently in an exploratory phase but is certain to occur because of the expected need for minerals that are rapidly being depleted from terrestrial sources. The deep sea is a rich source of these minerals, which can be found on the seafloor in the form of polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides, and cobalt-rich …


Australia cashes in on cobalt

A new kind of cobalt project. The first thing to note about Broken Hill is that cobalt is its sole product, a unique aspect that sets it apart from other operations around the world. "Globally, 98% of cobalt is a byproduct of copper or nickel," says Kaderavek. "In the case of copper it's 60% of that market. And in nickel's case, it ...


Cobalt Mining: The History, Impacts, and Legal Interventions

Historical Roots: The modern cobalt mining industry began during the 19th century, with significant deposits found in Europe, particularly in the ore-rich regions of …


Cobalt global mining exploration budget 2023 | Statista

Global cobalt mining exploration budget 2010-2023. In 2023, the worldwide mining exploration budget for cobalt was valued at 74.1 million U.S. dollars. The largest mining exploration budget for ...


Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo

The share of cobalt produced by artisanal mining is fluctuating and difficult to determine because of its informal and often illegal character 3. In 2015–2016, 12,000–18,000 tons, that is 15 ...


Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo

This study assesses the sustainability of artisanal mining there, finding much higher levels of cobalt in blood and urine of community members and especially of …


Democratic Republic of Congo: Government must deliver on …

Cobalt supply chain. Background. It is not known how many children work in mining in the DRC, but UNICEF estimated that in 2014 that approximately 40,000 children worked in mines across southern DRC.. Amnesty International's 2016 report on the use of child labour in cobalt mines in the DRC, written in partnership with Afrewatch is available …


The toll of the cobalt mining industry on health and …

More than half of the world's supply of cobalt comes from the DRC, and 20 percent of that is mined by hand, according to Darton Commodities Ltd., a London-based …


The toll of the cobalt mining industry on health and the …

Cobalt mining's dangerous impact on workers and the environment 05:54. Some women complained about the physical nature of the work, with one describing hauling 110-pound sacks of cobalt ore. "We ...


One hundred years of cobalt production in the

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) mined 69% of world cobalt in 2020. • DRC cobalt mining grew at a compound annual rate of 20% from 1995 through …


The rush for cobalt in the Congo reveals the …

As much as 30 per cent of Congo's cobalt comes from so-called artisanal mines.(Foreign Correspondent: Michael Davie)But the violent rush to extract cobalt is unleashing a new cycle of misery and ...


1,535 Cobalt Mining Royalty-Free Photos and …

1,535 cobalt mining stock photos, vectors, and illustrations are available royalty-free for download. ... Popular. cobalt stone on black isolated background. Industrial ore used in construction and medicine. …


Congolese Cobalt: A Growing Human Rights Catastrophe

Background. Cobalt mining in the DRC is divided into two sectors: the formal industrial mining sector and the informal artisanal mining sector (an estimated fifteen to thirty percent of the artisanal mining sector is informal) [5]. Upwards of 200,000 artisanal miners, known as creuseurs, work in cobalt mines in the country, and more …


Cobalt Mine royalty-free images

1,339 cobalt mine stock photos, 3D objects, vectors, and illustrations are available royalty-free. ... Popular. Anti-Atlas / Morocco - Nov 21 2018: Bou Azzer Cobalt Mine. cobalt stone on black isolated background. Industrial ore used in construction and medicine. Cobalt is a chemical element present in the enameled mineral (CoAs2), which …


Life cycle assessment of cobalt extraction process

The life cycle assessment of the cobalt extraction route is carried out. •. Blasting and electricity consumption in cobalt mining is damaging to the environment. •. Eutrophication and global warming are the most affected impact categories. •. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emission are highest from cobalt mining.


Cobalt Mining: The Dark Side of the Energy …

Cobalt Mining: The Dark Side of the Renewable Energy Transition. by Aphra Murray Africa Americas Asia Europe Middle East Oceania Sep 27th 2022 7 mins. Earth.Org is powered by over 150 …


Biden Administration Blocks Minnesota's Twin Metals Mine

The Biden administration blocked plans for a major copper, nickel and cobalt mine in northern Minnesota that could have helped supply minerals for his "net-zero" plans. The "Twin Metals Project" would have tapped the Duluth Complex within the Superior National Forest, where 95 percent of the nation's nickel reserves and 88 percent of …


Cobalt is in demand, so why did America's only cobalt mine …

The price of cobalt–around $40 a pound in early 2022–started to drop. The price fell from $40 a pound to $35. It was at $25 a pound by the time everyone was gathered in the mountains of Idaho ...


Effects of the energy transition on environmental impacts of cobalt …

2.1 Background LCA model of cobalt production. ... In all scenario–variable combinations for PMF, cobalt and blasting (a mining activity) account for over 60% of impacts together. MDP impacts are split between concentrates and cobalt, accounting for >98% together in all cases. For HTP, tailings are responsible for >90% of impacts in all …