Critical minerals (Part 3): Cobalt – the versatile metal powering modern technology
Michael Mackiewicz (USA)
Minerals have shaped human progress for millennia, but the concept of critical minerals is a modern one. As discussed in earlier articles, the Top 10 critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, manganese, rare earth elements, tungsten, vanadium, bismuth and antimony) are essential to advanced technologies, global economy, and national defence. These ten elements (critical minerals) along with other critical minerals face potential supply risks. Governments and industries monitor these minerals closely due to their importance in defence, renewable energy and high-tech manufacturing.
Cobalt is a particularly interesting critical mineral to explore next. It plays a vital role in rechargeable batteries, aerospace alloys and catalysts, and is also prized when occurring in well-formed mineral specimens sought by collectors. Cobalt is used in various applications. It is most commonly used in the electroplating process, because it is highly resistant to oxidation and is a very durable metal. In addition, cobalt compounds have been used to create a rich blue colour and were likely used in producing blue pottery, blue porcelain, blue ceramics and blue glass. Therefore, cobalt is typically associated with the colour blue, and its value is more typically in both technological applications and the beauty of its mineral crystals, making it an excellent example of how critical minerals connect science, industry and the natural beauty of Earth’s resources.
Where cobalt comes from: rock types containing cobalt-bearing minerals
Cobalt rarely occurs as a native metal. The reason it is considered a metal is because it is a transition element on the periodic table and has typical metallic characteristics that include it being hard, shiny and conducting electricity. In industry, it is used in batteries, alloys and catalysts. However, in nature, cobalt is almost never found as pure metal. Instead, it’s usually found in minerals like cobaltite and carrolite, and is bonded with other elements like copper, nickel or arsenic. That’s why geologists say cobalt rarely occurs as a “native metal”: it has to be processed from rocks to become the metallic form we use.
| Mineral | Primary use | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Jaipurite | Collector | Rare and visually interesting; valued for novelty and mineralogical appeal. |
| Perchiazziite | Collector | Complex structure and rarity make it attractive to collectors. |
| Wairauite | Collector | Uncommon intermetallic mineral; appreciated for its uniqueness. |
| Spherocobaltite | Collector | Bright pink to red crystals; admired for colour and crystal form. |
| Skutterudite | Both | Metallic lustre and cubic crystals; used in industry and admired by collectors. |
| Heterogenite | Both | Deep blue to black colour; important secondary mineral in oxidized zones. |
| Guite | Industry | Very high cobalt content; economically valuable in DRC deposits. |
| Cobalt pentlandite | Industry | High cobalt and nickel content; common in magmatic sulphide ores. |
| Linnaeite | Industry | Moderate cobalt content; found in copper-cobalt deposits. |
| Cattierite | Industry | High cobalt content; sometimes associated with skutterudite. |
| Modderite | Industry | Present in sulphide-rich zones; moderate cobalt yield. |
| Siegenite | Industry | Contains cobalt and nickel; used in sulphide ore processing. |
Table 1 lists the top cobalt-bearing minerals and their primary use, that is, the cobalt containing mineral favoured by mineral collectors, industry or both. This table helps to show some of the reasons why some minerals are more valuable to these users and collectors.
Geologists typically find cobalt bearing minerals in different types of rock formations, like copper-rich layers or nickel-bearing soils. Table 2 presents the various kinds of geologic settings where the cobalt-bearing minerals listed in Table 1 are usually found.
| Mineral | Cobalt content by % weight | Primary uses | Geological occurrence | Usefulness to industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pentlandite | Up to 67.4% | Nickel and cobalt recovery for super alloys, batteries | Magmatic sulphide deposits | Very high |
| Linnaeite | ~58% | Cobalt recovery in rich deposits; mineral collecting | Hydrothermal or metamorphosed zones | High |
| Cattierite | ~47.9% | Cobalt sulphide ore for industrial cobalt production | Hydrothermal veins | High |
| Carrollite | ~28.6–38.1% | Battery-grade cobalt, copper recovery | Sediment-hosted copper deposits | Very high |
| Cobaltite | ~35.5% | Super alloys, catalysts, historical pigments | Hydrothermal veins | High |
| Erythrite | ~29.5% | Indicator mineral for cobalt exploration; minor pigment use | Oxidised zones of arsenide minerals | Low |
| Skutterudite | ~20–30% | Metallurgy, semiconductors, cobalt precursor | Veins and skarns | Medium |
| Heterogenite | ~30% | Battery-grade cobalt for Li-ion cathodes | Weathered lateritic deposits | Very high |
| Asbolane | ~10–15% | Battery precursor, intermediate feedstock | Laterite soils | Medium |
Table 2 shows how different cobalt minerals vary in their cobalt content, geologic origin and usefulness to industry. Minerals like pentlandite, carrollite, and heterogenite are found in magmatic sulphide deposits, sediment-hosted copper layers or lateritic soils, and are highly valued because they contain a high cobalt content and are easier to process. Others, like linnaeite and cobaltite, form in hydrothermal veins or metamorphic zones and are also useful for extracting cobalt. Erythrite, found in oxidised arsenide zones, is less useful to industry but helps geologists locate cobalt-rich areas. The geologic setting of each mineral affects how much cobalt it holds and how practical it is to mine and use.
Fig. 1 illustrates the global distribution of cobalt by rock type. The global distribution of cobalt resources shows three main deposit types: sediment-hosted, nickel-cobalt laterite, and magmatic sulphide. Sediment-hosted deposits dominate central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is the world’s largest cobalt producer. Nickel-cobalt laterite deposits are concentrated in tropical regions, such as Australia, Indonesia and Madagascar, while magmatic sulphide deposits are found in Canada, Russia and parts of Scandinavia. This geographic distribution highlights how cobalt-bearing minerals are found in different geological rock-types across multiple continents.
Although over 30 cobalt-bearing minerals are known, only a few are economically significant or visually appealing. Most are either too rare, too low in cobalt content or too difficult to process. The minerals listed in Table 1 and 2 are either important for industry or admired by collectors for their colour and crystal form.
Collector-focused cobalt minerals
As I’ve said, cobalt minerals are appreciated and valued by both collectors and mineralogists for their colour, form and rarity, and not just their chemical composition. Erythrite’s vivid hues and skutterudite’s metallic shine make them sought-after pieces in any mineral cabinet. The four minerals listed below are especially prized for their aesthetic appeal and mineralogical interest.
- Cobaltite (Fig. 2): A silver-gray mineral with a metallic lustre, and a granular texture from Espanola, Ontario in Canada. It is one of the few cobalt minerals with significant industrial and collector interest.
- Erythrite (Fig. 3): A brilliant pink to purple mineral forms in delicate sprays or crusts. From Bou Azzer Mine, Ouarzazate Province, in the Drâa-Tafilalet Region of Morocco. Its colour and softness make it a favourite among collectors.
- Skutterudite (Fig. 4): A metallic silver-grey mineral with cubic crystals. It often forms in hydrothermal veins and has a striking, mirror-like surface.
- Carrolite (Fig. 5): A shiny, steel-gray mineral found in copper-cobalt deposits. Its octahedral crystals are highly sought after.
Industry-focused cobalt minerals and their economic importance
While mineral enthusiasts admire cobalt minerals for their colour and form, industry values them for their cobalt content and extractability. The most economically important cobalt minerals – carrolite, cobaltite, heterogenite and skutterudite – are used in batteries, aerospace alloys and catalysts. This information is best illustrated by Fig. 6, which reveals an important fact: not all minerals containing high cobalt content, at this time, are economically feasible to mine specifically for cobalt. Therefore, minerals having a high cobalt content alone do not guarantee they are economically useful.
The hidden challenges of mining specifically for cobalt
Cobalt is never found as a pure metal in nature; instead, it occurs in minerals mixed with other metals like nickel, copper and iron. Because of this, cobalt is usually recovered as a by-product during the processing of these other metals. The ores are complex mixtures, so separating cobalt requires advanced techniques. An ore is a natural occurring rock or mineral deposit that contains enough valuable material, usually metals like cobalt, copper or nickel, to make mining worthwhile. And obviously for an ‘ore’ to be mined, the profit earned from extracting the metals from the ore material must be greater than the cost of getting it out of the ground.
Some of the most challenging sources of cobalt include magmatic nickel-cobalt sulphide deposits and sediment-hosted copper-cobalt deposits, both of which require complex refining. Deep-sea cobalt-rich crusts and nodules, as well as laterite deposits formed by weathering, also contain cobalt, but are hard to process due to technical, environmental and economic limitations. These factors make cobalt extraction energy-intensive and costly, even though the metal is essential for modern technologies.
Cobalt’s importance lies in its role in rechargeable batteries, aerospace alloys and other high-performance applications. As demand grows for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, the need for cobalt continues to rise. However, cobalt’s strong bonding in complex minerals, its frequent co-occurrence with other metals, and the physical and chemical properties of the ore it is contained within (such as poor floatability, porosity, and interfering elements during extraction and processing operations), make its extraction technically difficult and economically challenging. In short, cobalt is critical for modern innovation, but its recovery remains one of the most difficult tasks in mineral processing.
Even when cobalt is present, it is often in small amounts and spread across large areas, which makes mining costly. In other situations, such as when the cobalt-bearing minerals also contain arsenic, toxic waste is often generated as a by-product of operations making it expensive to manage safely.
There is also a lot of cobalt on the ocean floor, and those countries which are actively searching for and attempting to retrieve cobalt-bearing minerals and ores from the sea floor include, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Singapore, Russia, Germany and the UK. However, deep-sea mining is still too risky, expensive and controversial to be practical at this time.
Beyond the science and economics, there are serious ethical and environmental concerns. Mining can damage ecosystems, and pollute water and soil. In some places, especially in the DRC, cobalt is mined by the very young to the old, under dangerous conditions. Therefore, companies are under pressure to prove their cobalt is responsibly and ethically sourced. One solution that is being worked on by researchers is to find ways to recycle cobalt from old batteries and even design new batteries that do not need cobalt at all.
Global mining and processing of cobalt deposits
Cobalt is essential to modern technology, especially in lithium-ion batteries, super alloys, catalysts and for electric vehicles. However, over 70% of the world’s cobalt is currently mined in the DRC, raising concerns about supply chain security and ethical sourcing.
Fig. 7 illustrates where cobalt is mined, processed or both, in countries around the world. Countries like the DRC, Canada and China are already active in mining or processing. Some countries, like Chile and Peru, are marked in lighter blue on the map to show they might become important in the future for cobalt. The map also helps you see which regions are leading now and which ones could grow in cobalt production in the future.
Cobalt recycling is significantly more developed than lithium recycling, with many battery manufacturers already recovering cobalt from discarded electronics and batteries. China and Europe lead these efforts, with China operating multiple hydrometallurgical plants and Europe hosting facilities across Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and Belgium. India is developing its recycling by offering industries incentives to boost domestic recycling, while the US is expanding its capabilities through new recycling initiatives.
Environmental and ethical dimensions
Mining cobalt also comes with significant trade-offs. In the DRC, the world’s largest cobalt producer, mining often occurs in regions with limited infrastructure and environmental oversight. Open-pit and artisanal mining can lead to deforestation, soil erosion and contamination of water sources with heavy metals.
The human dimension is especially critical. Many cobalt-rich areas in Central Africa are home to vulnerable communities where mine workers, ranging in age from the young to the old from the local population, may be involved in informal mining operations. This brings up big problems like unsafe working conditions, low pay and local populations being treated unfairly without any consideration to improving their communities. These are societal issues that are directly connected to ‘critical minerals’ and become more important to address as the demand for cobalt grows.
| Product type | Cobalt form | Recycling status |
| Mobile phones | Lithium-ion battery | Low recovery rate |
| Laptops | Lithium-ion battery | Moderate recovery rate |
| Electric vehicle batteries | Battery pack | Growing interest |
| Power tools | Rechargeable battery | Limited recovery |
| E-bikes | Battery module | Emerging |
New technologies are being developed, such as cobalt-free battery chemistries and more effective recycling methods that will hopefully reduce reliance on mined cobalt. These innovations include lithium iron phosphate (or LFP) batteries and solid-state designs that minimise or eliminate cobalt use. Improved recycling systems are also being developed to recover cobalt from discarded electronics and battery packs (Table 3).
A mineral for the moment
Cobalt was once used mainly in pigments and super alloys. Today, it is central to the global economy, powering electric vehicles, smart phones and renewable energy systems. Cobalt-bearing minerals are not only admired by collectors for their vibrant colours and crystal forms, but are also recognised as strategic resources that influence energy policy, defence planning, and international trade.
Whether appreciated for their mineralogical beauty or extracted for their technological utility, cobalt minerals connect geology to global economic, environmental and social challenges prompting important questions:
- Where does cobalt come from?
- How is it mined and processed?
- And how can we manage its use in ways that are ethical, sustainable and scientifically informed?
Summary
Cobalt is a mineral at a crossroads: one path leads to mineral showcases filled with erythrite’s vivid pink sprays and carrolite’s metallic crystals, while the other powers the technologies of tomorrow. In its natural form, cobalt can be visually stunning, but it is also tied to pressing global issues: environmental degradation, ethical sourcing and supply chain risks.
As the demand for critical minerals grows, society must think carefully about how we use the Earth’s resources. It’s not just about what looks beautiful or what industrial demands of limited natural resource demands are placed on it by industries.
About the author
Michael C Mackiewicz is Professor of Geology, Adjunct at Southern New Hampshire University, USA. He can be contacted at M.mackiewicz@snhu.edu.
References
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