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Cobalt Reference Rate — 10-Day Trend
All prices in ₹ per gram · daily rate, updated once per day
The Supply-Chain Story Behind the Reference Rate
Today's cobalt reference rate of ₹3.56 per gram on September 17, 2026 reflects a global market, but a meaningful share of the metal underneath that number comes not from CMOC's or Glencore's industrial operations, but from artisanal and small-scale mining — informal, often manual digging that happens alongside and sometimes within formal mining concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Artisanal mining: informal, small-scale operations supplementing industrial output
- Documented concern: child labor within parts of this sector, reported by multiple human-rights organizations
- Industry response: formal programs from BMW, BASF, Samsung, Volkswagen and Tesla addressing conditions directly
Cobalt Reference Rate by Weight
Today's Cobalt rate is Four Rupees per gram. At this rate, 10 grams of Cobalt costs Thirty Six Rupees.
| Unit | Weight | Price (INR) | Price in Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Gram | 1.0000 g | ₹3.56 | Four Rupees |
| 8 Grams | 8.0000 g | ₹28.50 | Twenty Nine Rupees |
| 10 Grams | 10.0000 g | ₹35.63 | Thirty Six Rupees |
| 100 Grams | 100.0000 g | ₹356.31 | Three Hundred and Fifty Six Rupees |
| 1 Kilogram | 1,000.0000 g | ₹3,563.08 | Three Thousand Five Hundred and Sixty Three Rupees |
| 1 Ounce (oz) | 28.3495 g | ₹101.01 | One Hundred and One Rupees |
| 1 Troy Ounce | 31.1035 g | ₹110.82 | One Hundred and Eleven Rupees |
| 1 Metric Ton | 1,000,000.0000 g | ₹3,563,080.00 | Thirty Five Lakh Sixty Three Thousand Eighty Rupees |
A Documented, Widely-Reported Concern
Child labor within parts of the DRC's artisanal cobalt mining sector is not a fringe allegation — it's a serious issue that has drawn sustained documentation from human-rights researchers, journalists and advocacy organizations over several years. That reporting has pushed the issue directly into the strategy documents of major automakers and battery manufacturers who ultimately buy cobalt-containing components, whether or not they source directly from artisanal mines themselves.
Real programs, not just statements
BMW Group, BASF, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electronics and Volkswagen launched the Cobalt for Development initiative specifically to support safer, more ethical artisanal mining practices in the DRC. Tesla separately joined the Fair Cobalt Alliance, an organization working to improve conditions for artisanal miners and address child labor in DRC cobalt mining directly. These are concrete, named commitments — not vague corporate sustainability language.
| Program | Members | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Cobalt for Development | BMW, BASF, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electronics, Volkswagen | Safer, ethical artisanal mining practices |
| Fair Cobalt Alliance | Tesla and other members | Improving artisanal miner conditions, addressing child labor |
Cobalt Reference Rate — Last 10 Days
The most recent Cobalt price on record (2026-09-17) is Four Rupees per gram. This is down by Less than One Rupees from the previous day's rate of ₹3.60.
| Date | Price (INR/g) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-17 | ₹3.56 | -0.04 |
| 2026-09-16 | ₹3.60 | -0.06 |
| 2026-09-15 | ₹3.66 | -0.04 |
| 2026-09-14 | ₹3.70 | -0.04 |
| 2026-09-13 | ₹3.74 | +0.00 |
| 2026-09-12 | ₹3.74 | +0.00 |
| 2026-09-11 | ₹3.74 | -0.07 |
| 2026-09-10 | ₹3.81 | -0.09 |
| 2026-09-09 | ₹3.90 | -0.12 |
| 2026-09-08 | ₹4.01 | — |
Why Formalization, Not Elimination, Is the Widely Favored Path
Banning artisanal mining outright is not the solution most researchers and policy organizations point toward — it provides real livelihoods for many DRC communities, and a prohibition would likely displace that activity rather than end it. Formalizing artisanal and small-scale mining — bringing it under recognized legal, safety, and labor standards — is instead widely described as the more workable path forward, one that several of the industry programs above are directly built around.
The comparison table and 10-day history above track cobalt's own price trend, separate from this supply-chain story. For a longer view, the site's own cobalt price history page holds real recorded data by year and month.
Cobalt Sourcing — Common Questions
It refers to informal, often manual mining operations — as distinct from large industrial mines run by companies like CMOC or Glencore — where individuals or small groups dig for cobalt-bearing ore, frequently alongside or near formal mining concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Meaningful, though a minority share — artisanal and small-scale mining is documented to contribute a real portion of total DRC cobalt production, supplementing the far larger volumes from industrial mines like CMOC's Kisanfu and Tenke Fungurume operations.
Human-rights organizations have documented child labor occurring within parts of the DRC's artisanal cobalt mining sector, a serious, widely-reported issue that has drawn sustained attention from researchers, journalists and advocacy groups over several years.
Real, documented initiatives exist: BMW Group, BASF, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electronics and Volkswagen launched the Cobalt for Development program to support safer, more ethical artisanal mining practices, and Tesla joined the Fair Cobalt Alliance, which works to improve artisanal miners' conditions and address child labor in DRC cobalt mining specifically.
Researchers and policy organizations widely point to formalization — bringing artisanal mining under recognized legal and safety standards rather than banning it outright — as a key path forward, since artisanal mining provides real livelihoods for many DRC communities that outright prohibition would simply displace rather than resolve.
