Co The World of

COBALT
The Technology Enabling Material
 Summary
Cobalt is an amazing element, a technology enabling metal essential
for the energy transition, global economic growth and sustainable
development.

Due to its unique properties -high temperature resilience, hardness

and process efficiency allowing for great energy and environmental
benefits, among others - cobalt is a critical material for the EU and
considered a strategically important metal globally.

Moreover, it is found at the centre of vitamin B12, making it also

fundamental for healthy plants, animals and the well-being of humans.

No other element is so crucial as cobalt to such a great variety of

fields and industry sectors. Cobalt is currently irreplaceable in many
of today’s technologies and plays a major role in supporting an overall
circular economy strategy.

Building on this, in January 2019 the Cobalt Institute (CI) launched

the Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF), a
reporting and management tool which makes ethical and sustainable
risk assessment and mitigation in cobalt production easier and more
standardized across the cobalt industry.

The Cobalt Institute promotes the sustainable and responsible use of

cobalt in all forms.

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Contents
4 Mining Production and Main Producers

5 Supply Chains andResponsible Sourcing

6 Primary Cobalt, Intermediate Chemicals, and Secondary Materials

7 Typical Uses, Including Batteries and EVs - Global Proportions

8 Human Health and Environmental Aspects

9 Classification and Regulatory Issues

10 Sustainability and the Circular Economy

11 Recovery and Recycling Opportunities

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 Mining Production 
and Main Producers

Cobalt is largely obtained as a by-product from nickel and copper production, with a smaller
amount from primary cobalt mining. A range of technologies are used for production, including
both underground and surface mining, and the processing of different nickel and copper ores
by both pyrometallurgical and hydro-metallurgical techniques.

28

Ni
27

Co
29

Cu

The members of the Cobalt Institute (CI) are the main producers, large scale mining companies
(LSM), and although CI membership do not represent the entire cobalt industry, it does represent
over 70% of mined production globally.

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 The Cobalt Institute (CI) is committed to promoting the
sustainable and responsible use of cobalt in all forms and has
worked with its members to develop the
Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment
Framework (CIRAF)
which was launched on 9th January 2019.

CIRAF Main Features:

- It strengthens the ability of cobalt producers and buyers to
assess, mitigate, and report on responsible production and
sourcing risks in their operations and supply chain.
- It also enables a more coherent and consistent approach to
cobalt due diligence and reporting by the cobalt industry.
- It is a management tool which allows participants to prove that
they are aligned with global good practice on responsible
production and sourcing with annual public reporting being a
mandatory requirement.

The framework is now being applied by Cobalt Institute members

in an initial implementation year. For further information, please
refer to the CIRAF external primer.

Supply Chains and

Responsible Sourcing

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 Primary Cobalt,
Intermediate Chemicals,
and Secondary Materials

The primary cobalt materials from

global sources include refined
cobalt metal, cobalt concentrate,
and cobalt complex
intermediates.

The refined cobalt metal can be used directly for

a variety of applications or converted into other
cobalt compounds (e.g. cobalt salts and oxides)
that are used in numerous applications.

Secondary materials recovered at

end of life include cobalt-containing
metal alloys and complex
intermediates. These can be
reprocessed into cobalt
chemicals for reuse in many
key applications.

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 Typical Uses,
Including Batteries and EVs
- Global Proportions
Cobalt is an important metal used in a wide range of applications
that can be divided into two overall categories:

rechargeable battery
components 44%

63% Chemical Applications

chemical precursors
catalysts 8%

pigments 5%

other specialty chemicals 6%

super alloys 17%

37% Metallurgical Applications

hard metal 9% corrosion resistantance

hard-facings 3%
high strength steel 5%
magnets 3%

The battery sector

Cobalt compounds are used as chemical precursors for production of cobalt dihydroxide used in the positive
electrodes for nickel-based batteries (both Ni-Cd and Ni-MH), for which the market is expected to remain stable.
The use of cobalt compounds in the future (next 10-15 years) is crucial for rechargeable batteries that are already
powering hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), where cobalt dihydroxide or tricobalt tetraoxide are transformed into
lithiated cobalt oxides (LiCoO2 or NMC or NCA) used in positive cathodes for lithium-ion batteries.

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 Human Health and
Environmental Aspects

27

Co
20-30 parts/million (mg/kg)

Cobalt is a naturally-occurring element in the earth’s crust at around 20-30 parts per million
(mg/kg) and cobalt substances are naturally and ubiquitously present in the air, soil, sediments
and water. Exposure to each cobalt substance is described and documented in the Exposure
Scenarios developed for EU REACH, which has produced extensive dossiers on the registered
cobalt compounds. Based on both hazard and exposure, risk is assessed and controlled, by
implementing a hierarchy of controls, ranging from engineering measures, to protective gear,
which are collectively referred to as risk management measures (RMMs).

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 Classification and
Regulatory Issues

Cobalt metal is self-classified as Carcinogenic (by inhalation), and five cobalt salts (Co carbonate,
Co sulphate, Co dichloride, Co dinitrate and Co diacetate), are classified as CMR and identified as SVHC
(substance of very high concern). Other cobalt compounds such as Co oxide and Co dihydroxide have
recently been self-classified as Carcinogenic (by inhalation). Industry has detailed knowledge of the
characteristics of cobalt compounds and the risk management measures (RMMs) to protect workers
and the environment, and two major epidemiology studies have been conducted in the cobalt
industry. Many cobalt compounds, including those used as battery precursors chemicals, have been
registered for REACH and have been (self-) classified under CLH.
There are many overlapping regulatory pressures on cobalt compounds in Europe, including:
proposed restriction under REACH (five Co salts), possible restriction under RoHS (several Co
compounds), CLH proposal (Co metal as CMR), and possibly further CLH proposals (and/or SVHC
proposals) on other Co compounds, as well as status as a Critical Raw Material (CRM) in Europe.

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 Sustainability and the 
Circular Economy

Circular Economy Plan (2018)

KEY STRATEGY:
Reuse and recovery of resources

A C O B A L T E X A M P L E

Primary Production (CIRAF)

Battery Materials Lithiated Cobalt Oxides

Secondary materials or second Cobalt Salts (battery cathode)
life (energy storage)

EV + Hybrid Vehicles EV Batteries

Cobalt is a critical raw material fundamental to industry and essential for enabling technological
development and a low carbon future. To better describe the cobalt sustainability profile, the CI has
generated an industry-supported ‘cradle-to-gate’ life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment
(LCA) study for refined cobalt, which is the first of its kind for the cobalt sector. This new cobalt LCI/LCA
dataset has been produced to support downstream users of cobalt in their efforts to produce more
sustainable cobalt-containing products. The EU Circular Economy Plan (2018) emphasises reuse and
recovery of resources as a key strategy to mitigating possible supply interruptions and ensuring efficient
and cyclical use of resources.
This is exemplified through the recycling of the EoL (End-of-Life) battery materials playing a pivotal role in
ensuring sufficient supply of cobalt salts for the production of the lithiated cobalt oxides for the batteries
that power hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). The EU Commission is promoting different industrial
initiatives, for the development of the value chain for the EU battery sector, through the policy framework
of the European Battery Alliance (2017). Cobalt compounds are key raw materials in the production of
catalysts, which are used worldwide to produce clean transportation fuels. Compliance with the European
Directive on fuel quality has only been achievable with the use of cobalt-containing catalysts. These
applications are important for achieving the EC’s climate change/clean air initiatives.

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 Recovery and Recycling
Opportunities

The Largest Opportunities

ALLOY SECTOR CATALYST SECTOR

Transport, Fuels quality,
Renewable Energy, Clean Air initiatives,
Manufacturing BATTERY SECTOR Climate Change
Mobility, EVs &
Hybrid Vehicles,
Decarbonisation

Recovery
+ Reuse
+ Recycling

High Value Resource

Cobalt represents a high value resource, and it is economically viable to recover cobalt and cobalt
compounds within End-of-Life (EoL) materials, with good (high) recycling rates (which vary by sector). Much
of this recycling takes place downstream through the recovery and reconditioning of hard metal tools, the
recycling of alloy scrap into new alloy, or within the chemical sector as complex intermediates requiring
additional refinement. The cobalt recovered from EoL batteries is processed into cobalt chemical
precursors for production of new battery materials. The largest opportunities for cobalt to be recycled are
within the alloy, battery, and catalysts sectors.

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