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Sogosohubidu201on Oct 08, 2019 11:08am
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Glencore and GEM deal could leave the market short of cobalt
Glencore and GEM deal could leave the market short of cobalthttps://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glencores-revamped-gem-deal-could-leave-electric-vehicle-makers-short-of-sustainable-cobalt/
Glencore announced a revamped deal with the world’s largest precursor producer, GEM Co Ltd, for cobalt hydroxide that equates to 61,200 tonnes of contained cobalt for a five year period between 2020 and 2024. This is compounded by the fact that Umicore – which is set to be the new owner of the Kokkola cobalt refinery in Finland after the acquisition from Freeport Cobalt completes later this year – will receive up to 12,000 tonnes a year of this material (from Glencore), Benchmark Minerals estimates.
This means over 50% of Glencore’s cobalt production is tied up in long term contracts with two major customers.
Benchmark Minerals forecasts cobalt demand in lithium ion batteries to increase from 75,000 tonnes in 2019 to 152,000 tonnes in 2024, with a total market size of 213,000 tonnes.