What Uses Cobalt?
· ₹3,411.38/kg today
A battery metal whose price chart has become a proxy for how nervous the EV industry is about where its supply actually comes from.
Where Is Cobalt Used?
Real, sourced demand-share figures. Sectors with a full reference page are clickable for the deep breakdown.
Mined Almost Entirely Outside This Site's Tracked Countries
The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies the large majority of the world's mined cobalt — none of this site's 22 tracked countries come close to that scale, though Australia and Canada both produce modest volumes, often as a byproduct of nickel mining.
Refining Is a Different Map Than Mining
Even without mining much cobalt itself, China dominates the refining step that turns raw cobalt into the battery-grade material EV and electronics makers actually need — a processing chokepoint that matters just as much as who controls the mines.
The Ethics of Where It Comes From
A meaningful share of DRC cobalt has historically come from informal, artisanal small-scale mining rather than industrial operations, raising documented labour and safety concerns that have pushed battery makers and regulators toward mandatory supply-chain due diligence and traceability requirements — a genuine ESG pressure that increasingly shapes which mines global buyers are willing to source from, not just how much cobalt costs.
Did You Know?
Concerns over artisanal, small-scale mining conditions in cobalt's dominant supply region have pushed battery makers toward traceability requirements and, in some cases, cobalt-reduced battery chemistries entirely — a real supply-chain story shaping the metal's own demand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Batteries is the largest identified use, at 73% of demand, followed by Other at 9%.
The Cobalt price in India today is ₹3,411.38 per kilogram as of October 16, 2026. See the live price and chart.
Metal Applications™ is an informational reference built from public data and named sources. See the methodology page for how figures are sourced and confidence-rated.
