but, per the game of Go, what used to be vague is now very clear, per belt & road, africa the new world, electric everything next generation of anything
coincidences i am sure, unless of course one paid attention all along to the real news
bloomberg.com
China Has a Secret Weapon in the Race to Dominate Electric Cars
By Jack Farchy and Hayley Warren
December 2, 2018
Giant Terex Corp. mining excavator in Katanaga, D.R.C. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Over the past two years, cobalt has emerged as one of the hottest commodities of the electric-vehicle revolution. The silvery-blue metal, an important component in lithium-ion batteries, has more than doubled in price, making carmakers and tech giants fret about securing their future needs.
The focus on the metal has turned a spotlight on the obscure supply chain that takes cobalt produced in mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Canada or Morocco, and ultimately delivers cobalt-containing batteries to companies from Samsung Electronics Co. to Volkswagen AG. That supply chain is dominated by Chinese companies.
Many of the leading companies that mine cobalt, such as Glencore Plc and Vale SA, are well known. So too, at the other end of the spectrum, are the tech companies and carmakers that buy batteries.
In between them sit companies that refine cobalt ore to make chemicals like cobalt sulphate; companies that combine these chemicals with other metals like nickel and manganese to make the cathode element of a lithium-ion battery; and companies that assemble the cathodes with the other components to make battery cells, and ultimately batteries.
Cobalt is almost always produced as a byproduct of either nickel or copper mining
Copper and cobalt mine operated by Katanga Mining Ltd. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
While there’s little cobalt mining in China itself (1 percent of the world’s total output in 2017), Chinese companies have snapped up cobalt mines abroad in recent years, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest source of the metal.
Cobalt Origins
More than two-thirds of cobalt mined in 2017 came from the Congo
New Caledonia
2%
Sources: Darton Commodities Ltd.
One key concern for cobalt buyers is that more than half of the world’s supply of the metal originates from a country where there has never been a peaceful transition of power. Reports of child labor at some small-scale mines in Congo has prompted some end users to trace the supply chain for the cobalt in the batteries they buy.
Eight of the 14 largest cobalt miners in Congo are now Chinese-owned, accounting for almost half of the country’s output.
Mining Stronghold
Share of 2017 output in Democratic Republic of Congo
Mutanda Mining
Glencore, Switzerland
Other D.R.C.
including artisanal mining
Tenke Fungurume
CMOC, China
Congo Dongfang Mining
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, China
Ruashi Mining
Jinchuan Group, China
Etoile/Usoke
Shalina Resources/Chemaf, U.A.E.
Boss Mining
ERG, Luxembourg
Kamoya
Wanbao Mining Ltd. (Comika), China
Metal Mines
Nanjing Hanrui Cobalt, China
Big Hill
GTL, Belgium/Cuba
Somika
Somika SPRL, D.R.C.
MJM
Jiana Energy, China
MKM
CREC, China
Sicomines
CREC, China
Glencore
Katanga Mining/KCC, Switzerland
Katanga Mining Ltd. production was suspended in 2015, and restarted in 2018.
Sources: Darton Commodities, EO Browser/Sinergise Ltd., USGS Mineral Resources
After the cobalt has been mined, it is sold–sometimes via traders–to refiners. They produce cobalt metal and powder, which are mostly used to make superalloys used in jet engines, or chemicals like cobalt sulphate, which are used to make batteries.
Companies refine cobalt ore into metal, powder and chemicals
Photographer: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg
China is even more dominant in the production of cobalt chemicals needed to make batteries than Congo is in cobalt mining. According to data from Darton Commodities Ltd., China accounts for more than 80 percent of the production of cobalt chemicals.
“China controls a massive proportion of the world’s cobalt sulphate,” says George Heppel, an analyst at consultancy CRU Group in London. “Aside from one chemical refinery in Finland, they control pretty much the entire world’s cobalt chemical refining capacity.”
Chemical Strength
Cobalt refined in 2017, in metric tons
Chemical
Powder
Metal
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt17.1KJinchuan Group8.7KShenzhen GEM8.2KVarious other China7.8KFreeport Cobalt7.0KUmicore (Guangzhou)5.4KJiana Energy4.0KGanzhou Tengyuan3.3KUmicore (Olen)1.6KNorilsk900Impala Platinum350Gecamines200Eramet100
Chemical refers to refined cobalt excluding metals and coarse powders.
Source: Darton Commodities Ltd.
In the next stage of processing, the cobalt chemicals are put together with other metals, such as manganese or aluminum, to make cathodes—the positively charged part of a battery.
Cathodes are produced by combining cobalt with other metals
Photographer: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg
There’s a wide range of different chemical makeups of lithium-ion batteries. Not all of them use cobalt, but many of the most popular do. Following the surge in cobalt prices, most batterymakers are researching ways to reduce the proportion of cobalt in their batteries.
Currently in the ascendancy in the electric-vehicle industry are nickel—manganese—cobalt oxide (NMC) batteries, used in most electric cars, and 57 percent of the production capacity for this type of cathode is in China. Tesla Inc., however, uses nickel—cobalt—aluminium oxide (NCA) batteries, which have a lower proportion of cobalt. Cathodes of this type are largely made in Japan. The consumer electronics industry largely uses lithium—cobalt—oxide (LCO) batteries, which contain the highest proportion of cobalt.
Positive ChargeBattery cathode capacity, in tons ??
Fully commissioned
Commissioned by end 2021
117KChina72KJapan44KKorea7KU.S.
Shanshan Technology Group
Ningbo Jinhe New Materials
Beijing Easpring Material Technology
Hunan Reshine New Material
Shenzhen Tianjiao Technology Development
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corp
BASF Toda Battery Materials
Pulead Technology Industry
Finally, the cathodes are brought together with the other components of a battery to make battery cells and then whole batteries in so-called “megafactories.”
Electric vehicle battery packs are composed of thousands of individual cells
LG Chem battery packs at Korea’s Hyundai plant. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
After Tesla pioneered the concept of a gigafactory in Nevada, there are now dozens of similar plants springing up across China. Chinese companies, like Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., are rapidly expanding. “We are going to increasingly see a lot of battery manufacturing migrating to China because the materials involved in manufacturing it are so readily available,” says Heppel.
Power HungryBattery plant capacity, in megawatt hours ??
Fully commissioned
Commissioned by end 2021
380KChina119KU.S.51KThailand43KEurope36KOther
Contemporary Amperex Technology
Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock
Dynavolt Renewable Power Technology
Guangzhou Great Power Energy & Technology
Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology
CBAK Energy Technology Inc
Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics
Automotive Energy Supply Corp
Only manufacturers with combined capacity exceeding 5,000MWh are broken out
Source: Bloomberg NEF
“There’s not going to be enough cobalt for everyone to avoid China,” says Heppel. “No matter how clever people try to be, there’s always going to be more readily available materials in China, which gives them a significant advantage.” |
