High Voltage: Non-DRC cobalt projects in demand as prices hit 3-year highs

Our High Voltage column wraps all the news driving ASX stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, rare earths, and vanadium.

In November, cobalt metal prices in Europe rose by 10.4% to punch through the $US30/lb mark for the first time since late 2018.

This late year rally is underpinned by strong demand side fundamentals, limited metal production in China, logistical bottlenecks, and a bullish outlook for battery sector demand heading into 2022, says Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

Benchmark expects prices to rise steadily into the New Year, “with some market contacts indicating that they expect prices to break the $35/lb level before year-end”.

“Indeed, Benchmark sources have indicated that cobalt metal demand from the battery industry in Europe and Japan is set to increase substantially in 2022,” it says.

Cobalt customers diversifying away from the DRC

The landlocked Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a global giant when it comes to cobalt production. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the DRC produced 95,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2020, accounting for 68% of global output.

It’s where China – the world’s biggest consumer by far — gets ~90% of its supply.

But some high-profile supply agreements have shown that European consumers are committed to diversifying away from problematic Chinese and DRC supply chains, Benchmark says.

“To an extent, supply chain players have shown willingness to accept higher costs in order to ensure ESG targets are met, making products more appealing to global automakers,” it says.

That includes prospective Norwegian cell producer, FREYR, which signed a supply contract with Glencore for 1,500 tonnes of cobalt metal in the form of ‘cut cathode’, sourced from Glencore’s Nikkelverk refinery in Norway.

Nikkelverk uses concentrate from Canada and recycled material as feed.

“Generally, cobalt metal in the form of cut cathode has not been utilised by the battery industry for conversion into cobalt sulphate, due to extended dissolution times and therefore higher conversion costs than more conventional cobalt metal briquettes, broken cathode and hydroxide,” Benchmark says.

Where’s is the non-DRC cobalt coming from?

Cobalt supply is expected to be dominated by the DRC for the foreseeable future.

That underscores the importance of cobalt projects in ‘de risked’ tier 1 jurisdictions – like those owned by Jervois Mining (ASX:JRV), Australian Mines (ASX:AUZ), Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX:SRL) Queensland Pacific Metals (ASX:QPM), Cobalt Blue (ASX:COB), red hot IPO Kuniko (ASX:KNI) and Metals X’s (ASX:MLX) nickel-cobalt spin-out Nico Resources, which is gearing up to list in December or January.

NOW READ: Cobalt stocks guide: Here’s everything you need to know

Battery Metals Winners and Losers

Here’s how a basket of ASX stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, rare earths, and vanadium are performing>>>

Battery metals stocks missing from our list? Email [email protected]

CODE	COMPANY	1 WEEK RETURN %	1 MONTH RETURN %	6 MONTH RETURN %	1 YEAR RETURN %	SHARE PRICE	MARKET CAP
ADD	Adavale Resources	-10	-31	-62	-25	0.038	$ 12,987,708.88
AML	Aeon Metals	-8	-23	-57	-68	0.0395	$ 33,618,703.60
ALY	Alchemy Resource	-8	-8	-30	-41	0.011	$ 10,475,793.79
ARN	Aldoro Resources	-11	-18	25	153	0.405	$ 36,010,003.55
ARN	Aldoro Resources	-11	-18	25	153	0.405	$ 36,010,003.55
AKE	Allkem Limited	-10	-13	23	115	8.54	$ 5,431,717,992.72
AJM	Altura Mining	0	0	0	0	0.063161	$ 214,798,472.24
ARR	American Rare Earths	3	-3	101	65	0.165	$ 57,661,907.16
ATM	Aneka Tambang	-5	-5	5	5	1.05	$ 1,368,831.45
ASN	Anson Resources	-19	-28	67	209	0.105	$ 102,139,928.00
ARU	Arafura Resource	-8	-18	16	76	0.185	$ 271,323,033.10
AXE	Archer Materials	-3	-29	61	117	1.16	$ 264,896,911.49
ARL	Ardea Resources	8	12	16	22	0.52	$ 69,415,109.50
ADV	Ardiden	0	-15	10	-45	0.011	$ 24,763,356.59
AGY	Argosy Minerals	0	-20	168	277	0.26	$ 291,300,489.87
AZL	Arizona Lithium	-9	-30	203	727	0.091	$ 153,533,049.83
AAJ	Aruma Resources	-13	-22	6	-36	0.067	$ 8,187,497.70
AOU	Auroch Minerals	-15	-29	-42	-29	0.11	$ 38,871,786.47
AQD	Ausquest Limited	-6	0	-26	-6	0.017	$ 14,834,686.01
A8G	Australasian Metals	-11	-38	170		0.445	$ 17,626,722.30
AUZ	Australian Mines	-2	-18	14	31	0.0205	$ 86,071,182.28
AVL	Australian Vanadium	-4	23	35	80	0.027	$ 88,598,045.86
AR3	Austrare	-11	23			0.92	$ 69,405,891.67
AVZ	AVZ Minerals	3	21	300	588	0.64	$ 1,818,267,564.20
AZS	Azure Minerals	0	-4	18	-59	0.335	$ 96,328,073.51
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	-16	-45			0.375	$ 11,462,500.00
BHP	BHP Group	4	11	-18	-4	40.03	$ 116,800,452,688.46
BKT	Black Rock Mining	10	-6	29	150	0.22	$ 160,116,424.41
BEM	Blackearth Minerals	-4	-4	0	150	0.115	$ 22,826,503.04
BSX	Blackstone	-6	-9	49	45	0.535	$ 199,514,439.33
BOA	Boadicea Resources	5	8	-20	-14	0.2	$ 15,928,478.48
BRB	Breaker Res NL	-12	-28	61	66	0.29	$ 92,864,664.77
BUX	Buxton Resources	-1	-18	-34	22	0.079	$ 11,020,489.99
CAE	Cannindah Resources	-16	-64	203	538	0.185	$ 89,032,517.47
CWX	Carawine Resources	-3	-5	-21	-34	0.185	$ 25,861,303.37
CLA	Celsius Resource	-15	-15	-49	-50	0.022	$ 23,187,517.78
CTM	Centaurus Metals	0	2	56	81	1.03	$ 343,729,052.00
CHN	Chalice Mining	-2	36	1	143	9.24	$ 3,219,609,409.18
CHR	Charger Metals	-1	-23			0.41	$ 12,972,569.18
COB	Cobalt Blue	-12	-18	-4	176	0.345	$ 106,088,145.69
CNJ	Conico	0	-5	16	3	0.036	$ 37,007,950.34
CZN	Corazon	-6	-11	-13	-45	0.033	$ 9,834,831.06
CXO	Core Lithium	1	-17	104	546	0.53	$ 792,701,302.80
DEV	Devex Resources	-9	97	36	131	0.6	$ 164,946,583.73
EGR	Ecograf Limited	-21	3	6	254	0.655	$ 292,716,748.35
ESS	Essential Metals	-8	-27	77	101	0.175	$ 38,646,395.84
ESR	Estrella Res	-19	-24	-61	-79	0.025	$ 29,426,093.50
EUR	European Lithium	-4	-41	72	134	0.11	$ 113,449,884.24
EMH	European Metals	-4	-7	-4	77	1.335	$ 171,721,393.80
FFX	Firefinch	17	18	107	379	0.755	$ 744,489,789.30
FGR	First Graphene	5	11	-11	-9	0.21	$ 115,525,407.06
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	-17	-43			0.27	$ 7,854,000.00
GLN	Galan Lithium	-6	-16	97	310	1.415	$ 407,127,267.81
GAL	Galileo Mining	-13	-7	-25	-13	0.21	$ 36,207,979.08
GL1	Globallith	-5	-6	109		0.565	$ 59,267,194.57
GME	GME Resources	-12	-23	-11	2	0.053	$ 33,857,473.43
GED	Golden Deeps	8	8	0	-7	0.013	$ 10,086,068.72
G88	Golden Mile Resources	2	0	-15	4	0.052	$ 8,892,953.06
GBR	Great Boulder Resources	0	-13	35	182	0.135	$ 46,440,655.17
GSR	Greenstone Resources	-10	4	18	-13	0.026	$ 21,791,124.60
GW1	Greenwing Resources	-9	-15	37	105	0.41	$ 45,743,644.65
HNR	Hannans	0	-18	435	524	0.037	$ 91,219,501.66
HAS	Hastings Tech Met	-8	-8	38	62	0.235	$ 399,844,863.44
HXG	Hexagon Energy	-1	-25	-14	23	0.079	$ 33,005,023.20
HYM	Hyperion Metals	0	-10	-13	239	0.865	$ 115,775,447.53
IGO	IGO	-3	9	29	97	9.91	$ 7,610,541,520.65
ILU	Iluka Resources	3	-2	10	52	8.66	$ 3,724,180,609.60
IPT	Impact Minerals	-7	-7	-13	-38	0.013	$ 26,309,333.95
INF	Infinity Lithium	0	-22	161	13	0.175	$ 62,113,418.40
INR	Ioneer	-4	-23	79	110	0.61	$ 1,179,065,329.43
IXR	Ionic Rare Earths	-7	5	46	116	0.041	$ 139,088,380.07
JRV	Jervois Global	-2	-2	-3	54	0.52	$ 789,259,048.24
JRL	Jindalee Resources	-12	-20	-26	160	2.13	$ 116,323,526.90
LKE	Lake Resources	-5	-25	204	925	0.82	$ 932,447,770.11
LEG	Legend Mining	-2	-17	-63	-50	0.05	$ 137,756,786.05
LPD	Lepidico	-8	-6	196	381	0.0385	$ 230,156,181.06
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0	0	0	0	0.008	$ 4,599,869.49
LTR	Liontown Resources	-21	-24	165	519	1.455	$ 3,178,310,228.03
LEL	Lithenergy	-15	-31	76		0.74	$ 33,075,000.00
LIT	Lithium Australia NL	-6	-17	-6	88	0.1125	$ 112,757,141.53
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int	-3	-12	128	65	0.445	$ 149,971,034.64
LOT	Lotus Resources	-2	-6	45	243	0.305	$ 276,596,517.36
LYC	Lynas Rare Earths	5	22	64	122	8.91	$ 8,302,186,296.80
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	-12	-24	60	158	0.465	$ 425,642,809.24
MAN	Mandrake Res	-12	-21	-82	-57	0.045	$ 22,582,351.79
MLS	Metals Australia	0	25	25	25	0.0025	$ 10,477,114.72
MLX	Metals X	24	34	83	421	0.495	$ 449,096,703.17
MCR	Mincor Resources	-2	-10	17	17	1.2	$ 576,373,358.40
MRC	Mineral Commodities	-13	-29	-59	-74	0.1	$ 51,894,091.50
MIN	Mineral Resources	-1	18	-7	29	44.69	$ 8,307,520,781.89
MMC	Mitremining	-5	-5			0.2	$ 5,552,445.50
MOH	Moho Resources	-8	2	-20	-44	0.059	$ 7,420,748.72
MRD	Mount Ridley Mines	14	14	14	167	0.008	$ 42,311,506.41
NMT	Neometals	-3	-5	102	369	1.025	$ 570,311,451.84
NWC	New World Resources	-8	-17	-35	21	0.068	$ 109,499,115.02
NIC	Nickel Mines	-4	31	24	34	1.33	$ 3,508,465,526.15
NKL	Nickelx	-5	-19	-30		0.105	$ 5,811,750.00
NTU	Northern Min	-15	0	61	51	0.053	$ 247,605,406.27
NVADB	Nova Minerals	1	-7	-13	-28	1.26	$ 214,804,507.20
OZL	OZ Minerals	3	10	4	41	26.4	$ 8,851,866,433.69
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	-11	-16	190	223	0.42	$ 30,936,630.48
PAN	Panoramic Resources	-5	0	27	50	0.21	$ 430,691,940.84
PEKDA	Peak Resources	21	18	-38	13	0.8	$ 142,132,523.39
PNN	PepinNini Minerals	-11	-33	57	150	0.425	$ 20,016,966.45
PLL	Piedmont Lithium	-1	-12	-14	120	0.78	$ 419,473,336.00
PLS	Pilbara Min	-6	0	78	231	2.36	$ 6,991,222,392.20
PGM	Platina Resources	-20	-18	-35	9	0.051	$ 23,456,646.47
POS	Poseidon Nickel	0	2	13	29	0.088	$ 266,564,478.76
PSC	Prospect Resources	-3	37	294	348	0.65	$ 261,399,356.35
PRL	Province Resources	-8	-5	-8	996	0.1425	$ 158,152,373.54
PUR	Pursuit Minerals	-18	-21	-67	35	0.027	$ 23,425,347.90
PVW	PVW Resources	8	3	210	210	0.465	$ 30,479,625.00
QEM	QEM	0	-3	0	128	0.18	$ 19,849,083.28
QPM	Queensland Pacific	-10	-16	28	363	0.185	$ 223,676,166.62
QXR	Qx Resources	-4	-24	38	47	0.022	$ 12,888,884.10
RFR	Rafaella Resources	-10	-26	-37	-23	0.06	$ 12,016,772.33
REE	RareX	-1	4	22	-18	0.099	$ 44,707,727.20
RMX	Red Mount Min	-15	-15	-23	-23	0.0085	$ 13,180,124.72
RLC	Reedy Lagoon	-25	-33	67	114	0.03	$ 16,200,784.98
RNU	Renascor Resources	0	-15	34	900	0.11	$ 198,305,746.80
RBX	Resource Base	-2	5	488	488	0.2	$ 7,989,517.00
RXL	Rox Resources	0	0	-24	-54	0.365	$ 59,102,855.25
S2R	S2 Resources	-19	3	10	-32	0.17	$ 60,583,725.35
SBR	Sabre Resources	0	-17	0	-50	0.005	$ 8,446,568.25
SYA	Sayona Mining	-15	-23	95	1382	0.115	$ 775,621,717.75
SRI	Sipa Resources	-2	-11	-14	-29	0.049	$ 9,841,190.54
SGQ	St George Mining	5	-6	-26	-49	0.061	$ 35,940,647.16
STK	Strickland Metals	-3	-22	113	34	0.068	$ 80,099,692.35
SLZ	Sultan Resources	0	-11	-41	-32	0.16	$ 11,125,502.24
SRL	Sunrise	0	-9	-15	-31	1.755	$ 166,607,076.15
SYR	Syrah Resources	-6	-12	3	9	1.105	$ 546,114,521.69
TLG	Talga Group	-24	-28	-12	-26	1.365	$ 418,968,713.63
TMT	Technology Metals	-6	-16	3	-14	0.31	$ 63,135,030.90
TNG	TNG Limited	-17	-44	-4	-25	0.067	$ 99,966,111.98
TKL	Traka Resources	-14	-20	-33	-48	0.012	$ 8,709,510.52
TON	Triton Minerals	-3	-3	18	-22	0.039	$ 45,378,722.68
VR8	Vanadium Resources	-9	-18	19	152	0.063	$ 29,332,967.19
VMC	Venus Metals	0	-3	-16	-20	0.175	$ 27,194,162.94
VIA	Viagold Rare Earths	0	0	2339	10426	2	$ 166,624,808.00
VML	Vital Metals Limited	-7	-4	-10	44	0.052	$ 212,439,637.28
VRC	Volt Resources	-4	-4	-18	135	0.027	$ 69,583,206.03
VUL	Vulcan Energy	-6	-21	20	360	9.79	$ 1,137,856,640.55
WKT	Walkabout Resources	0	-3	3	15	0.19	$ 74,989,655.48
KNI	Kuniko	8	-34	42	42	1.21	$ 49,980,000.00