Efforts by the European Union to ethically locate a major battery metal are going against headlines that could make it more expensive for electricity manufacturers to go.
Cobalt is the battery metal of the the greatest risk of being used in ways that are harmful to human health and the environment. The majority of the world’s supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with as much as a third of that provided by small miners who often work in dangerous conditions. Regulators have begun developing rules designed to help a business avoid damaging its reputation.
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However, these “ambitious requirements may be too difficult at the moment,” according to an assessment prepared by researchers advising the European Commission. The report, published by Elsevier Resources Resources Ltd. magazine. in June, proposing a tense market for cobalt with a sensible supply.
“If, as recommended by the European Commission, due diligence on a cobalt supply chain is imminent for batteries to be sold in EU markets soon, then the demand for cobalt with resources will be sensible going up fast, ”said the study prepared by the EU Joint Inquiry Center.
Blue stream
London cobalt spot prices are up two-thirds in the past year
Source: Data compiled by Bloomberg
Many downstream companies have been reluctant to buy cobalt by hand due to concerns about child labor. Glencore Plc, which operates two of the world’s largest industrial cobalt mines in Congo, assures buyers like Tesla Inc. that digging by hand alone does not feed cobalt with sensible yield into its products.
But some Chinese companies that sell processed cobalt to Europe mix proven streams of the metal with material obtained from unregulated mines, according to the report. Congo produces about three-fifths of the world’s cobalt and hundreds of thousands of workers produce as much as a third of that. Miners told the researchers that mining wages and prices remained controversial.
EU economies need to secure another 64,000 tonnes of ethical resources cobalt by 2030, a quantity of metal worth about $ 3.2 billion at current prices, to be transferred to electric vehicles. The run on the price of the metal encourages miners to seek new resources, from Australia to the deep sea.