Cobalt Prices Could Rise on Tenke News, DRC Ban

MetalBulletin reported that cobalt prices could rise in the second half of 2013 due to lower supplies from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold’s (NYSE:FCX) Tenke Fungurume Mining, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as the possibility of an export ban in the DRC. Tenke warned customers earlier this week that its cobalt exports will be down in H2 of this year.

As quoted in the market news:

Many expect low-grade metal prices, already lingering at a 12-month high of $13.75-14.60 per lb, to surge on the TFM news. “I just hope the market doesn’t become too hot. It could reach $20. At that point you might get some substitution in the battery industry, which would be the ceiling,” one source active in the DRC said.

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