Cobalt Refining

hydroxide · sulfate · DRC · China

Most of the world's cobalt is mined in one country and refined in another. The DRC now limits how much leaves, and China decides where it goes.

Flow of the main cobalt chain: DRC mines (CMOC, Glencore) produce cobalt hydroxide, which is shipped to Chinese refiners (Huayou, GEM) and converted to cobalt sulfate for cathode precursor and cathode plants. Below, bars compare DRC mine output of about 220,000 tons in 2024 and CMOC's own output of about 114,000 tons with the DRC's 2026 export quota of 96,600 tons. WHERE MOST COBALT GOES DRC mines CMOC, Glencore Hydroxide shipped to China China refiners Huayou, GEM Sulfate to pCAM and CAM DRC COBALT: OUTPUT VS EXPORT QUOTA DRC mine output, 2024 ~220,000 t CMOC alone, 2024 ~114,000 t DRC export quota, 2026 96,600 t
DRC share of mining
~76%
China share of refining
~76%
DRC export quota
Since Oct 2025
Main battery chemical
CoSO4
Hub
Supply Chain

Finding

Cobalt is a two-country chain - DRC mining and Chinese refining - and the DRC's switch from an export ban to quotas in 2025 cut exports to well under half of mine output

Most cobalt is a byproduct of DRC copper mines run by CMOC (Tenke Fungurume, Kisanfu) and Glencore (KCC, Mutanda). They ship cobalt hydroxide to refiners in China, where Huayou, GEM, Jinchuan, Hanrui and Tengyuan dissolve it, strip out copper, nickel, iron and zinc by solvent extraction and crystallize cobalt sulfate. Indonesian HPAL plants, mostly Chinese-owned, have become the second source, carrying cobalt in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP).

After prices fell to multi-year lows, the DRC banned cobalt exports in February 2025 and replaced the ban in October 2025 with annual quotas of 96,600 tons for 2026 and 2027 - less than half of 2024 output. Cobalt prices more than doubled. Outside China, battery-grade cobalt sulfate refining is limited to a few plants: Jervois Finland's Kokkola refinery, Umicore, Sumitomo Metal Mining's Niihama, Sherritt's Fort Saskatchewan refinery and Electra's Ontario project, where construction restarted in November 2025 with commissioning targeted for 2027. Jervois, owner of Kokkola, went through Chapter 11 in 2025.

Demand per kWh keeps falling: NMC 811 and NCA use a fraction of the cobalt in older NMC 111, and LFP and sodium-ion use none. Recycling (GEM, Brunp, Umicore, Redwood Materials) supplies a growing share, but recovered cobalt still has to be refined and requalified.

Plants

Cobalt refining and chemical plants

Battery-grade sulfate producers, Indonesian HPAL plants that carry cobalt in MHP, and the main DRC mine feedstocks. Linked plants have a profile in the ElectronsX cathode dataset; mines are listed on EV Raw Materials and Mines.

Cobalt refining and chemical plants
CompanyFacilityLocationProductsRoute / status
Huayou CobaltTongxiang and Quzhou refining and materials basesZhejiang, ChinaCobalt sulfate, cobalt tetroxide, precursorsHydromet, integrated to pCAM; operating
Huayou CobaltHuayue (Morowali) and Huafei (Weda Bay) HPALSulawesi and North Maluku, IndonesiaCobalt in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP)HPAL; operating
GEMJingmen battery materials and recycling baseHubei, ChinaCobalt sulfate, cobalt chloride, nickel sulfateHydromet from hydroxide and recycled black mass; operating
GEMQMB New Energy HPAL (Morowali)Central Sulawesi, IndonesiaCobalt in MHPHPAL; operating
Harita Nickel and LygendObi Island HPALNorth Maluku, IndonesiaMHP, nickel and cobalt sulfateHPAL plus sulfate line; operating
Jinchuan GroupJinchang and Lanzhou refineriesGansu, ChinaCobalt sulfate, cobalt tetroxide, cobalt metalMatte refining plus hydromet; operating
Hanrui CobaltNanjing refineryJiangsu, ChinaCobalt tetroxide, cobalt powder, saltsHydromet; operating
Tengyuan CobaltGanzhou refineryJiangxi, ChinaCobalt chloride, cobalt sulfateHydromet; operating
Jervois FinlandKokkola cobalt refinery (formerly Freeport Cobalt, OMG)Kokkola, FinlandCobalt sulfate and specialty cobalt chemicalsHydromet; largest cobalt refinery outside China; Jervois went through Chapter 11 in 2025 and is now owned by its former bondholders
UmicoreOlen cobalt and nickel refinery; Kokkola precursor plantBelgium; FinlandCobalt chemicals, cathode precursorsRefining and pCAM; operating
Sumitomo Metal MiningNiihama nickel refineryEhime, JapanCobalt metal and cobalt sulfate with nickelRefines mixed sulfide from its Taganito HPAL in the Philippines; operating
SherrittFort Saskatchewan refineryAlberta, CanadaCobalt and nickel metalRefines Moa (Cuba) mixed sulfide; operating
Vale Base MetalsLong Harbour refineryNewfoundland and Labrador, CanadaCobalt rounds with nickelHydromet on Voisey's Bay concentrate; operating
GlencoreNikkelverkKristiansand, NorwayCobalt metal with Class 1 nickelMatte refining plus hydromet; operating
Electra Battery MaterialsTemiskaming cobalt sulfate refineryOntario, CanadaBattery-grade cobalt sulfate, about 6,500 t a year (company figure)Hydromet; construction restarted November 2025, commissioning targeted 2027
US Strategic MetalsMissouri CobaltMissouri, United StatesCobalt and nickel from mine tailings (planned)Development
Cobalt BlueKwinana cobalt refinery (proposed)Western AustraliaCobalt sulfate, cobalt metalHydromet; development
CMOCTenke Fungurume and Kisanfu minesLualaba, DRCCobalt hydroxide (feedstock)Mine; world's largest cobalt producer
GlencoreKCC and Mutanda minesLualaba, DRCCobalt hydroxide (feedstock)Mine; second-largest producer

Battery-grade

Products and specifications

Battery cobalt products
ProductFormulaUseKey specification
Cobalt sulfateCoSO4·7H2ONMC and NCA precursor co-precipitation~20.5% Co; low-ppm Fe, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb
Cobalt tetroxideCo3O4LCO cathodes for consumer electronicsParticle size and purity
Cobalt hydroxideCo(OH)2Mine intermediate, refining feedCobalt grade, copper and manganese content
MHPMixed Ni-Co hydroxideHPAL intermediate, refining feedNickel and cobalt content

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Cobalt Refining
Sources
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025; DRC ARECOMS quota decision (October 2025); IEA; company reports; ElectronsX cathode dataset
Updated
October 2026