U.S. helps negotiate cease-fire for Congo election as world powers vie for access to its vital cobalt
CBSN
Johannesburg — If you have a smartphone, laptop, tablet or an electric car, your device is likely making use of the mineral cobalt, which was very likely mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Roughly 70% of the world's supply of the vital metal comes from the southern DRC, and with electric vehicles sales soaring, e-technology as popular as ever and no major new source of cobalt on the horizon, that number looks set to keep climbing.
Cobalt is built into most lithium-ion batteries in electric devices and vehicles to help prevent them from catching on fire. Along with demand for the metal, the price of cobalt has risen precipitously. It has quickly become one of the most-sought after minerals for the world's major tech companies.
Experts estimate that the DRC's soil may hold some 3.7 million tons of cobalt — close to half of the world's supply. Analysts with the business intelligence firm GlobalEdge speculate that the DRC's untapped raw mineral deposits could be worth more than $24 trillion.
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