Abstract:
Cobalt is a very scarce strategic metal resource.Global cobalt resources are mainly distributed in the Congo (DRC),Finland and some other countries.Among them,the Congo’s cobalt output by nearly half the world’s total,its policy changes greatly affect the prices of cobalt.From the national point,Congo (DRC) has the greatest pricing power.From the perspective of the industrial organization,the market structure of cobalt supply is an oligopoly economy,4 cobalt and cobalt mining giants control more than 40 percent of global supply,who also have strong abilities to control the market prices.At the same time,the rapid rise in cobalt prices will also prompt the procedures and processes of cobalt production,whose impact will come into effect about 1~2 years later.It is expected that the current tight supply of cobalt and high prices will ease after 1~2 years.