World mine output was about 310 kt in 2025. The Democratic Republic of the Congo produced about 230 kt (about 74%), Indonesia about 44 kt from nickel laterite processing, then Russia, Madagascar, Australia, the Philippines and Canada at under 8 kt each. Reserves are about 12 Mt, half in the DRC. Refining is mainly in China. Mining concentration (HHI about 5,700) is among the highest of any metal.
IEA demand was about 259 kt in 2025 and reaches about 305 kt in 2030 and 343 kt in 2040 in its Stated Policies scenario. Growth is slower than for lithium because battery makers have moved towards low-cobalt and cobalt-free (LFP) chemistries.
Critical for the EU (strategic), US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Korea and China. The DRC suspended cobalt exports in February 2025 and moved to export quotas from October 2025 to support prices.
From the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries
US production and use
In 2025, the Eagle Mine, a nickel-copper mine in Michigan, produced cobalt-bearing nickel concentrate, which was exported to Canada or overseas for processing. Most U.S. cobalt supply consisted of imports and secondary (scrap) materials. About five companies in the United States produced cobalt chemicals. An estimated 51% of cobalt consumed in the United States was used in superalloys, mainly for aircraft gas turbine engines; 25% in a variety of chemical applications; 15% in various other metallic applications; and 9% in cemented carbides for cutting and wear-resistant applications. The total estimated value of cobalt consumed in 2025 was $320 million.
Events, trends and issues
Congo (Kinshasa) was the world’s leading source of mined cobalt and accounted for an estimated 73% of world total, followed by Indonesia, which accounted for 14%. In February, Congo (Kinshasa) temporarily banned cobalt exports to address market oversupply and low prices. In October, the temporary ban was replaced with export quotas of 18,125 tons of contained cobalt for the remainder of 2025, and up to 96,600 tons contained cobalt per year in 2026 and 2027, inclusive of 9,600 tons for national strategic reserves. Uncertainty in supply availability following the announcement of the Congo (Kinshasa) export ban likely contributed to the sharp increase in estimated United States imports and industry stocks during the year. China remained the world leading producer of refined cobalt and the world leading consumer, primarily for the lithium-ion battery industry. In 2025, the United States published a solicitation to procure 7,480 tons of cobalt over a period of 5 years for the National Defense Stockpile. The solicitation was cancelled before the end of the year.
Substitutes
Depending on the application, substitution for cobalt could result in a loss in product performance or increased cost. The cobalt content of lithium-ion batteries, the leading global use for cobalt, was being decreased; cobalt-free substitutes that use iron and phosphorus held significant market share in China. Potential substitutes in other applications include barium or strontium ferrites, neodymium-iron-boron alloys, or nickel-iron alloys in magnets; cerium, iron, lead, manganese, or vanadium in paints; cobalt-iron-copper or iron-copper in diamond tools; copper-iron-manganese for curing unsaturated polyester resins; iron, iron-cobalt-nickel, nickel, ceramic-metallic composites (cermets), or ceramics in cutting and wear-resistant materials; nickel-base alloys or ceramics in jet engines; nickel in petroleum catalysts; rhodium in hydroformylation catalysts; and titanium-base alloys in prosthetics.
Recycling
In 2025, cobalt content of purchased scrap represented 25% of estimated cobalt consumption.
World resources
Identified cobalt resources of the United States are estimated to be about 1 million tons. Most of these resources are in Minnesota. Other notable occurrences are in Alaska, California, Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Identified world terrestrial cobalt resources are about 25 million tons, the vast majority of which are in sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits in Congo (Kinshasa) and Zambia; nickel-bearing laterite deposits in Australia and nearby island countries and Cuba; and magmatic nickel-copper sulfide deposits of mafic and ultramafic rocks in Australia, Canada, Russia, and the United States. An estimated 5 billion tons of cobalt is contained globally in sea floor polymetallic nodules.
