Barrick says Ontario Superior Court dismisses 2022 Tanzanian security case
A group of 21 Tanzanian nationals had alleged that Barrick was complicit in extrajudicial killings by police guarding its North Mara mine.
Transport delays from South Africa against an increasingly robust Chinese demand have fuelled a price rally for cobalt hydroxide, used to make chemicals for electric vehicle batteries.
Cobalt prices CBD0 on the London Metal Exchange are at $33,000 a tonne, the highest since early March and up more than 15% since the end of July.
South Africa implemented a covid-19 lockdown on March 27, under which ports handle only essential goods with reduced staff, leaving minerals mined across southern and central Africa without a key route to international markets.
“We are seeing a scramble for cobalt hydroxide in China, (but) buyers are finding it isn’t there,” Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s (BMI) head of price assessment Caspar Rawles told Reuters.
More than 80% of the chemical processing and refining capacity of cobalt is located in China.
Cobalt hydroxide prices are typically a percentage of the metal price, known as a payable. According to an assessment by BMI, payables hit levels around 75% in July, their highest in two years, from around 67% last month.
Traders said payables had risen even further, to around 85% currently.
However, surpluses are still expected this year, with CRU Group’s George Heppel putting the number at 6,000 tonnes while BMI forecasts an oversupply of around 5,000 tonnes.
(With files from Reuters)
