Our increasing reliance on rechargeable batteries is making the Democratic Republic of Congo reconsider how it values cobalt. Once a forgotten byproduct, the price of cobalt has tripled in the last two yearsand the world’s largest producer plans to profit off the demand. Lawmakers in the capital Kinshasa are currently considering increasing the royalty miners pay […]
Green Energy
Will lithium create another OPEC situation?
We are now racing toward a future of all-electric cars, or at least a mixture of electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered cars. It will be an environmental plus. China is working on a timetable to drop the gas-consuming internal combustion engine. GM plans on abandoning it, too. It will require an entirely new infrastructure of charging […]
It’s Getting Harder to Source Metal for Electric-Car Batteries, Report Says
Automakers have ambitious plans to fill their lineups with electric cars and hybrids, but they could face a major roadblock, according to Bloomberg. Because while the number of battery-powered cars automakers want to build appears to be limitless, the amount of metals that go into the batteries is finite. When BMW announced electrification plans that included an all-electric X3 and […]
Electric cars market threatened by potential cobalt tax hike in Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo may soon more than double the tax mining companies operating in the country pay on exports of cobalt, a key component in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars and mobile phones. The African nation, responsible for about two thirds of global cobalt output, has been evaluating the measure since […]
Congo May More Than Double Tax on Critical Global Cobalt Supply
The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing to more than double a tax on two-thirds of global cobalt supply, potentially increasing the cost of the critical battery metal just as the world begins to embrace electric vehicles. Congo, the world’s biggest cobalt producer, will increase the royalty miners pay on exports of the metal to […]
Cobalt surges to best performing metal of 2017
Cobalt prices rocketed by 130 per cent over the course of 2017, rising from $41,360 per tonne at the start of January 2017 to $96,000 per tonne at the beginning of 2018. This figure also represented an increase of $63,575 from the metal’s two-year low in February 2016. The massive increase has been largely spurred by a […]
