Cobalt production in East Asia & Pacific in 2024 — 14,043 t. Since 1995, the indicator has risen by 383.6%.
1995–2024 · tonnes
How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: East Asia & Pacific
| Year | t | Change | Change, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 14,043 | −2,240 | −13.76% |
| 2023 | 16,284 | −667 | −3.94% |
| 2022 | 16,951 | +673 | +4.13% |
| 2021 | 16,278 | −1,582 | −8.86% |
| 2020 | 17,860 | −53 | −0.3% |
| 2019 | 17,913 | +879 | +5.16% |
| 2018 | 17,034 | −1,956 | −10.3% |
| 2017 | 18,990 | +1,842 | +10.74% |
| 2016 | 17,148 | −1,927 | −10.1% |
| 2015 | 19,075 | −700 | −3.54% |
| 2014 | 19,775 | +3,772 | +23.57% |
| 2013 | 16,003 | +2,084 | +14.97% |
| 2012 | 13,919 | +3,469 | +33.2% |
| 2011 | 10,450 | +150 | +1.46% |
| 2010 | 10,300 | +430 | +4.36% |
| 2009 | 9,870 | −70 | −0.7% |
| 2008 | 9,940 | +110 | +1.12% |
| 2007 | 9,830 | +411 | +4.36% |
| 2006 | 9,419 | +1,140 | +13.77% |
| 2005 | 8,279 | −357 | −4.13% |
| 2004 | 8,636 | +114 | +1.34% |
| 2003 | 8,522 | −112 | −1.3% |
| 2002 | 8,634 | +2,772 | +47.29% |
| 2001 | 5,862 | +973 | +19.91% |
| 2000 | 4,888 | +2,528 | +107.11% |
| 1999 | 2,360 | +51 | +2.22% |
| 1998 | 2,309 | −110 | −4.55% |
| 1997 | 2,419 | +187 | +8.38% |
| 1996 | 2,232 | −672 | −23.14% |
| 1995 | 2,904 | — | — |
Cobalt production measured as contained metal, from U.S. Geological Survey data. Cobalt is needed for the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries, and its production is concentrated more tightly than that of any other important metal: more than two-thirds of the world total comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is because of that concentration that battery makers have spent recent years looking for chemistries with a smaller share of cobalt, or none at all.
Important: Cobalt is almost always mined as a by-product — together with copper or nickel — so its volume depends on the market for the main metal and not only on demand for cobalt itself.
Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries (USGS), license Public domain (work of a U.S. federal agency).