A surplus of cobalt chemicals used to make the rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles has seen Chinese refiners switch to producing metal, sending prices down 30 percent in recent months.
BHP Billiton last week agreed to sell its U.S. shale oil and gas assets for $10.5 billion, while Rio Tinto appears on track to exit its troubled investment in the giant Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia for about $3.5 billion.
U.S. tariffs on auto may hugely impact on Japanese industries.
Locking in supplies of key battery raw materials lithium and cobalt has been a headache for electric car manufacturers, but these days it’s the supply of nickel and graphite that’s keeping them up at night.
The $502-million transaction makes the Chinese company Arab Potash's majority shareholder.
Base metals are the most fundamental minerals produced for the modern economy, and metals such as copper, zinc, nickel, lead, and aluminum.
The explosion in cobalt prices over the past two years has made the metal enticing for crooks, with each ton fetching $82,500.
Starting on July 30, the LME will start providing a set of synthetic monthly prices for the six main base metals — copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel and tin.
Last year saw only small changes in global cobalt supply but some large projects are about to come on line.
Panasonic has already significantly reduced cobalt content, to about 10 percent in its nickel-cobalt-aluminium cathode chemistry.