What is Cobalt Battery Raw Material
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| Cobalt Ore |
Based on data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), world reserves of cobalt are estimated at 7.4 million tons. Indonesia itself has about 3.6 million tons of cobalt resources and 0.4 million tons of cobalt reserves.
Generally, Indonesia's cobalt reserves are spread across eastern Indonesia, such as in South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Halmahera and Papua, especially in West Papua.
What is Cobalt?
Cobalt is a metal found in the earth's crust with the symbol "Co" and atomic number 27. Cobalt has a bluish-gray color. Cobalt metal was first discovered by G.Brand, a Swedish scientist.The first use of cobalt metal was as an ingredient in a bluish dye in the production of glassware. Currently, cobalt is commonly used as a building block for lithium batteries.
Cobalt metal is found in the minerals Cobaltite (CoAsS), Smaltite (CoAs2) and Linnaeite (CO3S2). Based on its geological formation, cobalt is a secondary mineral from nickel, although in a relatively small percentage.
Cobalt mining
Cobalt reserves found in Indonesia are found in laterite deposits, similar to nickel deposits. Laterite cobalt deposits are usually formed close to the Earth's surface and are generally mined by the open pit mining method.The stages of cobalt mining are the same as nickel ore mining, starting from clearing the mining area, stripping the overburden, mining the ore, transporting the ore, storing it to processing.
Because a lot of cobalt ore is a by-product of nickel deposits, cobalt mining coincides with nickel ore mining. The largest development of cobalt and nickel mining is in South Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi to the Maluku region.
Cobalt Processing Industry
Cobalt processing industry in Indonesia is not yet widely available. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in 2020 imports of cobalt matte, cobalt oxide and cobalt metal (cathode/powder) products were relatively small.The unavailability of a cobalt processing industry in Indonesia has resulted in the production of cobalt mining in Indonesia, generally being exported in the form of raw materials.
Cobalt Downstream Products
It is predicted that the downstream cobalt industry will need in the future primarily for use in the battery sector, especially the type of lithium-ion battery used in electric cars and smartphone products.In 2020, the use of cobalt increases 50% and is expected to increase by 75% in 2040. Cobalt is also used for superalloy applications with a percentage of 7 - 11%.
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| Lithium-ion batttery |
Apart from being a raw material for batteries, the mineral cobalt also functions and is needed by living things. Cobalt has a function to form blood vessels as well as a builder of vitamin B12.
World Cobalt Prices
The price of cobalt has increased significantly from year to year in line with soaring demand for use in the battery sector and other industries. The price of cobalt based on the London Metal Exchange in 2020 is at 33,970 USD per tonne or around 475,000 per tonne.Cobalt is a mineral that forms together with nickel. The most abundant presence of cobalt and nickel is in eastern Indonesia. Processing of cobalt is not yet widely available so that most of it is exported as a raw material along with nickel.
Currently, the Indonesian government is prioritizing the downstreaming of cobalt and nickel in the form of finished goods, such as cobalt matter by processing metals using smelters, so that these metals can be used fully domestically and have high prices.
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