Recently, the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, published a public notice regarding the approval decision on the environmental impact assessment document for the "Power Battery Recycling Comprehensive Utilization Project of a Company in Fujian." Upon completion, the project will be capable of recycling and processing 40,000 tons of waste power batteries annually. This includes the cascading utilization of 12,000 tons of batteries per year and the production of 30,000 tons per year of battery raw materials (copper powder, aluminum powder, electrolytic nickel, high-purity nickel sulfate solution, electrolytic cobalt, high-purity cobalt sulfate solution, crude manganese carbonate, high-purity lithium sulfate solution, and copper sponge, etc.).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the world’s top cobalt supplier (over 70% of global 2024 supply), imposed 2025 export bans/quotas, roiling cobalt prices. With large-scale exports unresumed, the U.S. launched "Project Vault" to secure critical minerals, adding DRC supply uncertainties and heightening geopolitical risks for Chinese cobalt procurement.

SMM Cobalt and Lithium Morning Meeting Summary: This week, the spot price of cobalt intermediate products rose slightly as the market continued to gradually digest the impact of the DRC export ban. Supply side, some top-tier enterprises began to fulfill long-term contracts with inventory, resulting in a lower proportion of spot orders, and the available supply in the market remained at a low level.

【SMM Analysis: Increase in Market Supply Leads to a Sequential Decline in the Average Export Price of Electrolytic Cobalt】In August 2024, China's imports of unwrought cobalt amounted to approximately 177 metric tons, a 47% month-on-month increase and a 95% year-on-year increase.

According to SMM research, China's electrolytic cobalt production in August 2024 increased by 3% month-on-month and 123% year-on-year.

Recently, Tengyuan Cobalt announced to the public that it would invest in the construction of a major capacity expansion project in the Chemical Industry Centralized Area of the Rare Gold New Material Industrial Park in Ganxian District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province. The project aims to produce 30,000 tons of electrolytic nickel and 3,000 tons of electrolytic cobalt annually, with a total investment of up to 510.8 million yuan. It is expected that the construction period will be 18 months, and the project is scheduled to be fully completed and put into production in December, 2025.

[New Progress of Jiangxi's Electrolytic Nickel and Cobalt Project] Recently, Tengyuan Cobalt Industry announced a significant investment and expansion plan. The company plans to invest and construct a comprehensive product project with an annual output of 30,000 tons of electrolytic nickel and 3,000 tons of electrolytic cobalt in the chemical industry cluster area of the Rare Earth and New Materials Industrial Park in Ganxian District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province. The total investment of this project reaches RMB 511 million, with an expected construction period of 18 months and an expected completion and commencement of production in December 2025. Upon completion, the project will achieve large-scale production with an annual output of 3,000 tons of electrolytic cobalt and 30,000 tons of electrolytic nickel.

Tengyuan Cobalt said that based on the company's upcoming wet smelting capacity of 23,000 tonnes of cobalt and 50,000 tonnes of nickel, and with the premise that the 120,000 tonnes of ternary precursors and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt tetroxide production capacity have not been fully utilized, the company can achieve the sale and realization of 30,000 tonnes of nickel metal content of nickel sulfate salt and 3,000 tonnes of metal content of cobalt chloride salt in the form of electrolytic nickel and electrolytic cobalt respectively.

The Chemical Concentration Area of the Rare Gold New Material Industrial Park in Gan County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, has invested in the construction of a project to produce 30,000 tons of electrolytic nickel and 3,000 tons of electrolytic cobalt products annually. The project investment amount is 511 million yuan, with a construction period of 18 months, and it is expected to be completed in December 2025. The source of funding is the company's self-raised funds. After the completion of the project, it will achieve an annual output of 3,000 tons of electrolytic cobalt, 30,000 tons of electrolytic nickel, and 24,322 tons of sodium hypochlorite.

[SMM Analysis: Weakening Domestic and Foreign Demand Led to Declines in Both Import and Export Volumes of Electrolytic Cobalt] In July 2024, China's import volume of unwrought cobalt was approximately 120 metric tons, down 54% month-on-month and 70% year-on-year.