Cobalt News
Glencore is getting ready for cobalt demand
Glencore and Umicore to put cobalt on the blockchain
Glencore and a group of other miners announced today that they are collaborating with Umicore in a pilot to put cobalt on the blockchain.
Glencore is a leading producer of the metal. It produces cobalt mainly as a by-product of copper mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but also as a by-product of nickel mining in Australia and Canada.
The technology supplier is Re|Source. Other miners collaborating in the pilot are CMOC and Eurasian Resources Group.
Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, commented:
“Blockchain technology offers us an unprecedented ability for traceability in the supply chain. Through this pilot, we are supporting the development of this tool for our customers who seek to understand and demonstrate the origin of the cobalt units in their products. But traceability is not enough on its own, it must be part of a wider industry effort to bring improvements to the entire cobalt supply chain.
"This starts with responsible sourcing compliance, for example through RMI; the collective use of wider ESG standards such as CIRAF and ICMM; and supporting the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) sector through multi-stakeholder initiatives like the Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA).”