THE COBALT CONFERENCE 2019, HONG KONG, 15-16 MAY ABSTRACTS PRESENTATION COBALT INSTITUTE - ADDING VALUE, GETTING RESULTS Mr David Weight President – CI & Director – Cobalt REACH Consortium Ltd The Cobalt Institute (CI) is a global industry association which works collectively on behalf of its Members, who themselves constitute >70% of cobalt production, and represents the cobalt industry at many levels, addressing multiple issues of importance. In particular, the CI develops cutting edge science relating to safe production and use; works on the sustainability credentials of cobalt; looks closely at responsible sourcing and interacts with the Regulatory authorities and policy makers in an endeavour to protect market access for cobalt. The CI provides compelling value to its members and represents the interests of a large part of the cobalt industry with an excellent benefit to cost ratio. There are many challenges for cobalt, all of which could affect market access for this critical, strategic and essential, technology enabling metal. The CI will outline the main issues for cobalt, explain how we are addressing them and what the results we anticipate and what the impact could be. SESSION 1 – WEDNESDAY 15 MAY STABILISING COBALT: HOW NEW SUPPLY LIQUIDITY COULD BRING A NEW ERA OF PRICE STABILITY Mr George Heppel Senior Analyst - Cobalt, Lithium & Battery Markets Cobalt Institute 1 18 Jeffries Passage, Guildford, GU1 4AP, UK Tel: + 44 1483 578877 CI@cobaltinstitute.org www.cobaltinstitute.org
The last few years have been a rollercoaster of activity within the cobalt market. The world entered 2017 with cobalt prices remaining stable at $14/lb, before prices skyrocketed to a peak of $44.50/lb in May 2018, leading to many concerns around whether sufficient cobalt could be supplied for the impending widespread EV adoption. However, since the dizzying highs of 2018, prices have stabilized at significantly lower levels, with average cobalt prices sitting at just $15/lb in Q1 2019. Challenges abound for the battery industry when it comes to sourcing cobalt, including issues with traceability, uncertainty of supply and issues of political risk. However, in spite of these issues CRU does not expect a return to the price volatility of 2017-2018. In this talk, CRU cobalt analyst George Heppel will give an overview of what led to the 2017-2018 boom and bust of the cobalt market, the key structural changes that have occurred in the market and why another price cycle may not happen again in the mid-term. THE DRC AND COBALT SUPPLY Mr Mabolia Yenga CTCPM / RDC LA RDC ET L’APPROVISIONNEMENT EN COBALT 1. Brève présentation du cadre légale qui régit l’exploitation minière en RDC, notamment : • Les conditions d’accès et l’éligibilité ; • La prise en compte des principes et critères de la transparence ; • Le renforcement de la responsabilité industrielle, environnementale et sociétale de l’opérateur minier ; • Une fiscalité instaurant un partenariat gagnant – gagnant. 2. La production du cobalt en RDC, ainsi que les potentialités, les projections et perspectives à l’horizon 2022 et 2025. 3. Les difficultés du secteur minier congolais, notamment : • le déficit énergétique ; • présence des enfants dans les mines ; • absence d’une industrie locale de transformation du cobalt This presentation will discuss the production of cobalt in the DRC: Cobalt Institute 2 18 Jeffries Passage, Guildford, GU1 4AP, UK Tel: + 44 1483 578877 CI@cobaltinstitute.org www.cobaltinstitute.org
1. Brief presentation on the legal framework which covers mining in the DRC, notably: • Conditions of access and eligibility • Transparency principles and criteria • Reinforcement of industrial, environmental and social responsibility of mining companies • A fiscal policy conducive to a win-win partnership 2. Cobalt production in the DRC, as well as potential, projections and perspectives going forward to 2022 and 2025 3. The difficulties of the Congolese mining sector, notably: • The energy deficit • Child labour in the mines • Absence of a local industry for the transformation of cobalt COBALT OPPORTUNITIES FROM DEEP-SEA RESOURCES Mr Tom Albanese CIC The world has known of the existence of deep sea manganese nodules for more than 50 years. While previous surveys have focused on their tremendously large endowments of manganese, iron, copper and nickel, they also represent a nearly inexhaustible supply of cobalt and other key metals for the future E-Vehicle revolution. Notwithstanding this geologic abundance, it’s been long perceived that the technical challenges are too difficult, too expensive, or not environmentally sustainable. In actual fact, tremendous improvements have been made in working commercially in deep waters over the past 10 years, and nodules now represent a credible and viable source of Co within the next several years. The author is an experienced senior leader in the terrestrial mining industry and exhibited these same doubts a dozen years ago. As he has seen the development of deep water technologies, and the correspondingly more difficult challenges of terrestrial mining, he’s become personally very active in a private consortium made up of an experienced team of deep sea explorers and operators. This consortium is focused on deep sea nodule extraction focused on cobalt and sees it as a very real source of future cobalt supply in the near future. Cobalt Institute 3 18 Jeffries Passage, Guildford, GU1 4AP, UK Tel: + 44 1483 578877 CI@cobaltinstitute.org www.cobaltinstitute.org
NORNICKEL – SUSTAINABLE COBALT SUPPLIER Mr Alex Khodov Principal Nickel & Cobalt Analyst - Norilsk Nickel The presentation will look at the cobalt operations of Norilsk Nickel and in particular will focus on: • The sustainability issues of cobalt supply • Nornickel – resource, our cobalt products and production process & environmental improvements COBALT: PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE RESOURCE SUPPLY Dr Richard Herrington 1 & The CoG3 Research team 2 The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London Cobalt is a metal associated with modern technologies with the Li-ion battery industry using around 42 percent of global cobalt production. Of the battery metals, Co appears to have the tightest supply and demand fundamentals. Over 95 percent of the world’s primary cobalt comes as a by-product of nickel or copper mining. Furthermore, 55% of that by-product production is located in the DRC, some of which is linked to unethical mining practices. Recent price hikes for cobalt suggests that we have witnessed the perception of increased scarcity of future cobalt supply. Mines producing complex arsenide ores in Morocco are the only primary cobalt producers, with cobalt largely recovered as a by- product of copper and nickel mining so an added pressure to supply may be that the falls in the prices 1 Prof Richard Herrington, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD 2 http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/sustainability/cog3-cobalt-project.html Cobalt Institute 4 18 Jeffries Passage, Guildford, GU1 4AP, UK Tel: + 44 1483 578877 CI@cobaltinstitute.org www.cobaltinstitute.org
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