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Resource · Battery metal

Cobalt

Cobalt is a metal used mostly in batteries, produced as a by-product of copper and nickel mining. DR Congo mined 74% of the world's cobalt in 2025, much of that from Chinese-owned mines. China refines 79% of global output. DR Congo's export ban and quotas in 2025 sent cobalt hydroxide prices up 328%.

Updated October 2026 · Data from the US Geological Survey and the Cobalt Institute

Two artisanal miners digging for cobalt ore on a rocky slope in DR Congo
Artisanal cobalt miners in DR Congo. Photo: International Institute for Environment and Development, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5.
Mined in 2025
310,000 t
of cobalt
Largest producer
74%
230,000 tonnes
Refined in China
79%
of refined cobalt, 2025
Chinese-owned
72%
of DR Congo's output, 2025
Into batteries
77%
of cobalt used, 2025

Where does cobalt come from?

DR Congo mined 74% of the world's cobalt in 2025, mostly from copper mines. Chinese companies majority-owned the operations that yielded 72% of DR Congo's output. CMOC alone produced about 117,500 tonnes at Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu. Indonesia was second at 14%, extracting cobalt as a by-product of nickel processing.

Hand-dug artisanal mining has declined but persists. The US Labor Department lists cobalt ore from DR Congo as produced with child labor and forced labor.

World map shaded by each country's share of cobalt mining in 2025. DR Congo is the lightest by far, then Indonesia.

Share of world mine output, 2025

  1. DR Congo74.2%
  2. Indonesia14.2%
  3. Russia2.5%
  4. Madagascar1.3%
  5. Australia1.2%
  6. Philippines1.2%
  7. Everyone else5.4%
Critical minerals by country →
  • Under 1%
  • 1%–5%
  • 5%–10%
  • 10%–25%
  • Over 25%
  • No production

Who refines cobalt?

China refined 79% of the world's cobalt in 2025, despite mining just 0.6%. Finland was a distant second, and Indonesia rose to third with new refineries built with Chinese involvement.

Chinese gigafactories also used about 71% of cobalt consumed at the battery-cell stage. Most of those batteries ended up in cars and devices sold in Europe, North America and the rest of Asia.

From mine to battery

Share of world cobalt at each step

Mining310,000 t, 2025
China 0.6%Indonesia 14%Russia 2.5%
Refining240,000 t, 2025
Finland 6.6%Indonesia 3.2%
Battery cellsCobalt used, 2025
North America 8%Europe 6%
Mining: US Geological Survey, 2025. Refining and battery cells: Cobalt Institute, Cobalt Market Report 2025 (data by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence). Battery cells: cobalt used by cell factories, by region.

What is cobalt used for?

Batteries consumed 77% of the world's cobalt in 2025. Electric vehicle batteries were the single largest use, followed by portable electronics batteries. Superalloys for jet engines and cutting tools accounted for most of the rest.

Cobalt-free LFP batteries are spreading. Nickel-cobalt chemistries made up 44% of EV batteries sold in 2025, down 8 percentage points in a year.

What the world's cobalt goes into

Share of use, 2025

  • Electric car batteries41%
  • Phone and laptop batteries34%
  • Jet engine alloys7%
  • Cutting tools3%
  • Catalysts2%
  • Other13%

How much goes into one

  • 12 kgof cobalt in a 55 kWh NMC 622 car battery; an LFP battery has none
  • 5–10 gof cobalt in a smartphone battery
  • 50–60 kgof cobalt in one large jet engine
  • 77%of the world's cobalt went into batteries in 2025
Cobalt Institute, Cobalt Market Report 2025 (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence). "Other" includes government stockpiling.

Why did cobalt prices jump in 2025?

DR Congo banned all cobalt exports on February 22, 2025, after cobalt hydroxide fell to about $5.60 a pound. DR Congo extended the ban in June and replaced the ban with export quotas in October 2025, capping exports at 96,600 tonnes a year for 2026 and 2027. That quota is about 43% of what DR Congo mined in 2024.

Cobalt hydroxide prices rose 328% over 2025. In June 2026, DR Congo's regulator moved unused quotas into a state strategic reserve.

How much cobalt prices rose in 2025

Change over the year

  1. Cobalt hydroxide+328%
  2. Cobalt sulphate+266%
  3. Cobalt metal+130%
Hydroxide is what DR Congo exports; sulphate goes into batteries. Cobalt Institute, Cobalt Market Report 2025.

Which country has the most cobalt reserves?

DR Congo holds about half of the world's known cobalt reserves, with 6 of 12 million tonnes. Australia has the second-largest reserves at 14% but mined only about 1% of the world's cobalt in 2025.

Indonesia holds just 6% of reserves but mined 14% of the world's cobalt in 2025. Indonesia's output rose from 35,000 to 44,000 tonnes between 2024 and 2025.

Reserves against mining

Share of reservesShare of mining
  1. DR Congo50%74%
  2. Australia14%1.2%
  3. Russia6.7%2.5%
  4. Indonesia6.3%14%
  5. Cuba4.2%0.6%
  6. Philippines2.2%1.2%
  7. Canada1.8%1.1%
  8. China1.3%0.6%
Share of the world's 12 million tonnes of reserves, and of mine output in 2025. US Geological Survey, 2026.

Other resources

All 11 resources →
Chile 23% Industrial metal Copper China refines 48% of the world's copper but mines only 8%. Indonesia 67% Battery metal Nickel Indonesia mines 67% of the world's nickel; Chinese firms run 75% of its smelters. Australia 32% Battery metal Lithium China mines 21% of lithium but refines 70% and makes 80% of battery cells.
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