Stock exchange investors may be feeling the effects of a bear market but for cobalt producers, the times couldn’t be better. According to the London-based publication Metal Bulletin, the metal climbed past US$15 per lb. intermerchant near the end of the year.
Two reasons are given for the increased price, buying interest by the Japanese and talk of an imminent rise in the joint producer price (currently US$11) of African producers.
The two reasons are connected. African producers Zaire and Zambia are both reported to be experiencing political and economic troubles. Japanese buyers could face a shortfall in supplies from their normal African suppliers because of cutbacks by those sources.
Metals Week, a New York-based publication, reported a mid- December spot cathode price range of US$13-13.60 for the metal.
A major application of cobalt is in superalloys where it increases the strength, wear and corrosion resistance properties of alloys at higher temperatures. Cobalt-based superalloys are used in turbine blades for aircraft jet engines and gas turbines for pipeline compressors.
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