Latest News

China state stockpiler intends to buy up to 15,000 T of cobalt, sources state

China plans to buy up to 15,000 metric lots of cobalt metal from regional Chinese producers over the next couple of months for domestic stockpiles, 3 sources knowledgeable about the matter told , including that it would be a. record amount for a single purchase.

The planned purchase would be a big increase as industry. sources say China's state stockpiler - the National Food and. Strategic Reserves Administration - purchased 8,700 lots of cobalt. metal in 2015.

China dominates the processing of cobalt, the majority of it from. the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it is a byproduct. of copper output. In metal form it is utilized in the defence and. aerospace industries and also in magnets for communication.

Cobalt metal purchases by the National Food and Strategic. Reserves Administration might offset some of the surplus in the. market this year.

It might be as much as 15,000 loads that would be the most I. keep in mind in one tender, one of the sources knowledgeable about the. matter said.

The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration did. not respond to ask for remark.

2 of the sources said some of the cobalt bought by the. National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration could be for. military equipment.

A second source acquainted with the matter stated no arrangement. had yet been reached in between China's state stockpiler and regional. manufacturers.

They (China stockpiler) have asked Chinese manufacturers for. numbers on accessibility and rate. They will work out up until. they pertain to an arrangement.

The 3rd source said a ballpark cost manufacturers were. looking for was 205 yuan or around $12 a pound, near to current. cobalt costs << COB-CATH-LON > which are near five-year. lows.

Industry sources state China's plans to obtain 15,000 lots of. cobalt would narrow the surplus in the market this year to. around 20,000 loads. That compares to surpluses of around. 11,000 and 16,000 lots in 2022 and 2023 respectively and. excludes the quantities China bought for its stockpiles in those. years, based upon research by Macquarie experts.

It will take some pressure off cobalt costs, however it won't. make much distinction to an oversupplied market, provided the. quantities coming out of Congo, one industry source stated.

According to Darton Commodities, Congo supplies last year. amounted to 77% of the worldwide overall at more 170,000 lots.

Increase production in Congo is China's CMOC. Its Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu mines in Congo produced more. than 55,500 tons of cobalt in 2015 and 25,200 loads in the. first quarter of 2024.

Chinese cobalt manufacturers have seemed unfazed by oversupply. and plummeting prices, with some said to take advantage of state. assistance for a sector seen as vital to China's electrical automobile. market and the energy shift.

(source: Reuters)