Cobalt is a shiny silvery white metal with a pinkish surface. It is hard, fragile and ferromagnetic. Cobalt carbonate is an inorganic compound, which is toxic and can irritate eyes, skin and respiratory system. Usually pink or reddish crystalline powder, the chemical formula is CoCO3. Almost insoluble in alcohol, methyl ether, ammonia and other organic solvents, soluble in acid and sodium hydroxide.
Cobalt carbonate has the advantages of long life and high energy density, and is an important raw material for cobalt chemical industry. Widely used in pigments, alloys, metallurgy, catalysts, mineral processing agents, cosmetics, agriculture, feed, micro-fertilizers, ceramics, battery materials, magnetic materials, cobalt oxide production, electric vehicles and other fields.
Cobalt carbonate can be prepared by reacting metallic cobalt or cobalt-containing waste with hydrochloric acid to generate cobalt chloride, and then reacting with sodium carbonate. In terms of cobalt production, Congo, China, Russian Federation, Australia, Canada and Cuba are the main cobalt producers in the world. Among them, China's cobalt production accounts for about 7% of the world's cobalt production, ranking second in the world, and the supply of raw materials for cobalt carbonate production is sufficient.
According to the Report on Deep Market Research and Investment Strategy of Cobalt Carbonate Industry from 2023 to 2027 issued by Xinsijie Industrial Research Center, China is the largest producer and consumer of cobalt carbonate in the world, and also the largest exporter of cobalt carbonate.
China's cobalt carbonate production accounts for more than 60% of the world's cobalt carbonate production. Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and other provinces are the main producing areas of cobalt carbonate in China. Among them, the output of cobalt carbonate in Yunnan ranks first in the country, accounting for more than 50% of the total output of cobalt carbonate in the country.
The cobalt carbonate industry in China is developing rapidly and the market scale is expanding. New energy vehicles are the main driving force. Under the background of "carbon neutrality" and "peak carbon dioxide emission", with the strengthening of government support, China's new energy vehicles have developed rapidly. According to the data published in Statistical Bulletin of National Economic and Social Development in People's Republic of China (PRC) in 2022, the output of new energy vehicles in China will be 7.003 million in 2022, an increase of 9 1% compared with 20 19.
The rapid growth in the output of new energy vehicles has led to an increase in the demand for lithium-ion batteries. Cobalt carbonate is an important material for producing lithium ion batteries. With the rapid growth of lithium ion battery market, cobalt carbonate has broad development prospects.
Globally, multinational mining companies such as Glencore, Eurasian Resources and Luoyang Molybdenum occupy the main market share of cobalt carbonate. The cobalt carbonate industry in China has not only large enterprises with leading technology and large production scale, but also many smaller enterprises. These enterprises have different strengths in R&D technology, product quality and product development capability.
Industry analysts of Xinsijie said that the cobalt carbonate industry in China is highly competitive, and there are problems such as product homogeneity and lack of high-end products. In addition, a large amount of waste water and waste gas will be produced during the production of cobalt carbonate, which will pollute the environment. With the strengthening of government environmental supervision, China's cobalt carbonate enterprises urgently need to explore cleaner and more environmentally friendly production methods.