Indonesia's cobalt production and reserves are the world's second largest

Indonesia's cobalt production in 2023 is second only to the world's largest cobalt producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produced 170,000 tons of cobalt in 2023, and Indonesia produced 17,000 tons in the same year, up from 9,600 tons in 2022.Russia is in third place in 2023 with 8,800 tons of production. Congo also has the world's largest cobalt reserves at 6 million tons, while Australia and Indonesia have reserves of 1.7 million tons and 500,000 tons, respectively. Globally, cobalt is mainly used in electrodes for rechargeable batteries, as well as in the manufacture of gas turbine parts and as an ingredient in vitamin B12. Indonesia will account for about half of the world's nickel production in 2023, and is expected to account for nearly 20% of cobalt by 2030. the Indonesian Nickel Association (INA) has estimated that the state could collect an additional US$600 million if mining royalties were levied on cobalt, which is a companion mineral to nickel. Currently, the government has only set a reference price for cobalt, without considering the pricing of its raw materials and the imposition of royalties. Cobalt prices on the London Metal Exchange stood at $33,565 per tonne, up 14.91% on the day, while nickel prices stood at $16,641 per tonne, down sharply from the record highs of 2022-2023.