Cobalt production in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024 — 204,187 t. Since 1995, the indicator has risen by 4,076.5%.
1995–2024 · tonnes
How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Sub-Saharan Africa
| Year | t | Change | Change, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 204,187 | +60,219 | +41.83% |
| 2023 | 143,968 | +24,045 | +20.05% |
| 2022 | 119,923 | +23,335 | +24.16% |
| 2021 | 96,588 | +7,077 | +7.91% |
| 2020 | 89,511 | +6,183 | +7.42% |
| 2019 | 83,328 | −32,812 | −28.25% |
| 2018 | 116,139 | +17,818 | +18.12% |
| 2017 | 98,321 | +18,201 | +22.72% |
| 2016 | 80,120 | −14,159 | −15.02% |
| 2015 | 94,279 | +6,843 | +7.83% |
| 2014 | 87,437 | −454 | −0.52% |
| 2013 | 87,891 | −7,077 | −7.45% |
| 2012 | 94,968 | −14,309 | −13.09% |
| 2011 | 109,277 | +14,659 | +15.49% |
| 2010 | 94,618 | +32,026 | +51.17% |
| 2009 | 62,592 | +14,928 | +31.32% |
| 2008 | 47,664 | +16,974 | +55.31% |
| 2007 | 30,690 | −1,668 | −5.15% |
| 2006 | 32,358 | +1,709 | +5.58% |
| 2005 | 30,649 | +3,757 | +13.97% |
| 2004 | 26,892 | +8,401 | +45.43% |
| 2003 | 18,491 | −619 | −3.24% |
| 2002 | 19,110 | +2,368 | +14.14% |
| 2001 | 16,742 | +2,285 | +15.81% |
| 2000 | 14,457 | +2,629 | +22.23% |
| 1999 | 11,828 | +1,432 | +13.77% |
| 1998 | 10,396 | +2,403 | +30.06% |
| 1997 | 7,993 | +814 | +11.34% |
| 1996 | 7,179 | +2,290 | +46.84% |
| 1995 | 4,889 | — | — |
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).