China is set to tighten its grip on global cobalt supply, as the price of the key metal for electric car batteries hits a 32-month low off the back of a surge in production.Over the next two years, China’s share of cobalt production is expected to reach half of global output, up from 44 per cent at present, according to a report by Darton Commodities, a UK-based cobalt trader.
The increase comes despite western efforts to gain control over supply chains for critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium and nickel, which are essential for making electric car batteries.
Chinese refining activity reached 140,000 tonnes in 2022, more than double its level of five years ago, as volumes processed in the rest of the world stagnated at the 40,000 tonnes mark, handing Asia’s largest economy a 77 per cent global share of refining capacity.