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| TABLE 8 | |||||||||||
| COBALT: WORLD MINE PRODUCTION, BY COUNTRY1, 2 | |||||||||||
| (Metric tons, cobalt content) | |||||||||||
| Country3 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015e | ||||||
| Australia4 | 3,848 | 5,870 | 6,410 | 5,978 | 6,000 | ||||||
| Botswana5 | 149 | 195 | 248 | 196 | 316 | 6 | |||||
| Brazil | 3,623 | 2,900 | 3,500 | 3,828 | r, p | 3,800 | |||||
| Canada7 | 6,836 | 6,676 | 7,168 | 6,907 | r | 6,904 | p, 6 | ||||
| Chinae | 6,800 | 7,500 | 7,200 | 7,700 | r | 7,700 | |||||
| Congo (Kinshasa)e, 8 | 59,000 | 52,000 | r | 56,000 | 61,000 | r | 63,000 | ||||
| Cubae, 9 | 5,100 | 4,900 | 4,200 | 3,700 | 4,300 | ||||||
| Finlande | 500 | 635 | 750 | 770 | 440 | ||||||
| Indonesiae, 10 | 1,600 | 1,700 | 1,700 | 1,300 | 1,300 | ||||||
| Madagascare, 11 | 500 | 630 | 2,200 | 3,100 | 3,700 | ||||||
| Moroccoe, 12 | 2,160 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,150 | r | 2,600 | |||||
| New Caledoniae, 13 | 3,100 | 2,670 | 3,190 | 4,040 | 3,680 | ||||||
| Papua New Guinea14 | -- | 469 | 1,013 | 2,134 | 2,505 | 6 | |||||
| Philippinese, 15 | 2,000 | 2,700 | 2,800 | r | 4,600 | 4,300 | |||||
| Russiae, 16 | 6,100 | 6,300 | 6,300 | 6,300 | 6,200 | ||||||
| South Africae | 1,600 | 2,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 | ||||||
| United Statese, 16, 17 | -- | -- | -- | 120 | 760 | ||||||
| Vietnam | -- | -- | 25 | e | 223 | 277 | 6 | ||||
| Zambia18 | 7,702 | 5,435 | 5,919 | 4,600 | r, e | 4,600 | |||||
| Zimbabwe19 | 174 | 195 | 319 | 358 | 360 | ||||||
| Totale | 111,000 | 105,000 | r | 114,000 | 122,000 | r | 126,000 | ||||
| eEstimated. pPreliminary. rRevised. -- Zero. | |||||||||||
| 1Totals and estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits; may not add to totals shown. | |||||||||||
| 2Includes data available through May 24, 2017. Figures represent recoverable cobalt content of ores, concentrates, or intermediate- | |||||||||||
| products from cobalt, copper, nickel, platinum, or zinc operations.- | |||||||||||
| 3In addition to the countries listed, Spain and Turkey are known to produce ores that contain cobalt, but information is inadequate- | |||||||||||
| to make reliable estimates of production. Poland produced copper ore containing 1,500 to 5,000 metric tons per year of cobalt,- | |||||||||||
| which was not recovered. Other copper-, nickel-, platinum-, or zinc-producing nations may also produce ores containing cobalt- | |||||||||||
| as a byproduct component, but recovery is small or nil. | |||||||||||
| 4Cobalt content of lateritic nickel ore and nickel concentrate reported by the government of Western Australia.- | |||||||||||
| 5Reported cobalt content of pelletized nickel-copper matte. | |||||||||||
| 6Reported figure. | |||||||||||
| 7Assay content of cobalt in concentrates produced.- | |||||||||||
| 8Cobalt content of concentrates, tailings, and slags.- | |||||||||||
| 9Determined from reported cobalt content of nickel-cobalt sulfide production and estimated cobalt content of ammoniacal- | |||||||||||
| liquor production. | |||||||||||
| 10Cobalt content of nickel matte plus estimated cobalt in lateritic ore processed in Australia. | |||||||||||
| 11Data for 2012−15 are estimated cobalt content of reported mixed sulfide production. | |||||||||||
| 12Cobalt content of concentrate estimated from reported gross weight. | |||||||||||
| 13Cobalt contained in the following materials: cobalt chloride produced in France from New Caledonian matte, cobalt carbonate- | |||||||||||
| and nickel hydroxide produced in New Caledonia, and lateritic nickel ore exported to Australia. | |||||||||||
| 14Cobalt content of nickel-cobalt hydroxide. | |||||||||||
| 15Cobalt contained in the following materials: nickel-cobalt sulfide produced in the Philippines and lateritic nickel ore exported | |||||||||||
| to Australia. | |||||||||||
| 16Cobalt content of concentrates. | |||||||||||
| 17Negligible production prior to 2014. | |||||||||||
| 18Data for 2011−13 were reported by the Bank of Zambia. | |||||||||||
| 19Data for 2011-14 were reported by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency. | |||||||||||
Source: United States Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program
See also: Mineral commodity prices
