The global cobalt metal demands are increasing year by year

       Earlier this month, Volkswagen approved a spending plan of 34 billion euros to accelerate the development of electric vehicles and strive to become a leader in the global electric vehicle market, according to foreign media reports. According to one popular spokesman, "We have had constructive negotiations with some well-known suppliers and the negotiation will continue, with the negotiation of the future not only in terms of product supply and production costs but also in the future Capacity expansion, sustainability and transparency. "The negotiations took place in Wolfsburg, Germany, for two days starting on Thursday and ending on Friday.

The talks are designed to compete with Glencore, Huayou Cobalt, commodities trader Traxys and the US miner Freeport-McMoran, Resource Group (ERG) study to discuss cobalt supply agreement. Eurasia Resources Group confirmed its representatives participated in the meeting; Glencore declined to comment; Huayou Cobalt, Unisys and Freeport Mike Moran Copper and Gold Company have not yet commented.

According to an informed source, the price of cobalt metal is about 30 US dollars / pound, which is the highest price since October 2008; the price in 2015 is less than 10 US dollars / pound. Prices have risen significantly last year as global governments and automakers began their efforts to promote the development of electric vehicles to reduce emissions from fuel-powered locomotives. According to another insider, "It is also possible to include other suppliers, but they did not participate in last week's meeting. Suppliers want a fixed price, that is impossible, they hope to reach all supply agreements by the end of the year, This kind of thing can not happen. "

According to sources, cobalt producers and VW are expected to resume negotiations next year, but no clear plans have yet been formulated. According to S & P Global Market Intelligence, cobalt production will increase from 122,000 tons last year to 219,000 tons by 2022, most of which will come from the Congo.

At the company level, Glencore is the dominant player in the market, producing more than 28,000 tonnes of cobalt last year. George Heppel, consultant at CRU International Ltd., predicted earlier this year that global cobalt metal demand will be close to 136,000 tons by 2021 and 161,000 tons by 2025. The global cobalt metal demand this year will be around 102,000 tons . Heppel said battery demand for electric vehicles and mobile devices will reach 46% in 2021, up from 40% this year.