cobalt

[BAPP]

Cobalt is now being quoted at US$45.75c per pound.

http://cobalt.bhpbilliton.com

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that equates to about US$100,000 per metric ton.

Cheers
BP

[BAPP]

Cobalt price still moving up...now US$46.25

http://cobalt.bhpbilliton.com

At this rate we could easily hit US$50+ by the end of the month!

Cheers
BP

[BAPP]

I enjoyed this little quote from the Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-18261,00.html

'Keep an eye out for announcements that contain the world "cobalt".

Cobalt is now being quoted @ US$47.50 per pound. http://cobalt.bhpbilliton.com

I think the BHP management will be loving this!

Cheers
BP

[tobo]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...ncobalt111.xml

partial quote:
'Cobalt price soars as stockpiles run low
By Iain Dey
Last Updated: 1:37am GMT 11/01/2008
'... It [cobalt] is widely used in the defence industry. The US Defense Logistics Agency has historically kept a large stockpile of the mineral to help secure the US military's needs.
One London-based trader said the DLA held about 52m pounds of cobalt in 1993, but this has been whittled down to little more than 1.5m pounds. "The average rate of annual sales in those 14 years has been 1,650 tonnes per annum," the trader said.
"At this rate of sales the DLA will have exhausted its cobalt stocks by June of this year."

[BAPP]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...ncobalt111.xml

partial quote:
'Cobalt price soars as stockpiles run low
By Iain Dey
Last Updated: 1:37am GMT 11/01/2008
'... It [cobalt] is widely used in the defence industry. The US Defense Logistics Agency has historically kept a large stockpile of the mineral to help secure the US military's needs.
One London-based trader said the DLA held about 52m pounds of cobalt in 1993, but this has been whittled down to little more than 1.5m pounds. "The average rate of annual sales in those 14 years has been 1,650 tonnes per annum," the trader said.
"At this rate of sales the DLA will have exhausted its cobalt stocks by June of this year."

Hi Tobo,

.. and the price has jumped again, with BHP now quoting US$48.25 per pound

Time to see the BHCL IPO getting underway!

Cheers
BP

[BAPP]

From: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-18261,00.html

Charge in cobalt

THREE of the companies mentioned above - Albidon, Sally Malay and Minara - should also be on investors' minds because of their by-product: cobalt.

Cobalt goes into batteries, and the multiplicity of gadgets that depend on batteries just keeps growing, as was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.

Samsung launched an Armani mobile phone with which to accessorise that Italian gear you have hanging in the wardrobe. Or what about a lifestyle laptop shaped like a women's handbag, or a Ladybug iPod docking station for the tween and teen markets? Whirlpool unveiled a refrigerator complete with a multi-port docking station for charging iPods and laptops. Show-goers saw the new robot with which you can keep on eye on your valuables while away from home by directing the machine from your mobile.

Cobalt, which has been on the Pure Speculation watchlist for some months, edged up another $US1 to $US46 a pound, higher than it's been since 1979.

A report from London says BHP Billiton was digging in its toes on an asking price of $US47.50/lb when the market closed on Friday. The report also notes that the US Defense Logistics Agency has run down its cobalt stockpile from 52 million pounds in 1993 to 1.5 million pounds, meaning that stocks will be exhausted by June. The US depends almost entirely on imports for its cobalt.

There are other companies to watch, too. Vulcan Resources is certainly one. It has just received its environmental permit to start mining its Kylylahti copper-cobalt deposit in Finland. The cobalt grade there is a high 0.24 per cent, and Vulcan expects first ore out of the ground by the second half of 2009.

Last year Central West Gold hit a grade of 3.36 per cent near Grafton, NSW, and bits of rock pulled from the old copper mining waste dumps have produced assays of more than 10 per cent. The records from 1906 show that the copper operation reported high grades of cobalt then.

Central West expects a drilling rig to turn up at the gate in the next week or two and at least eight more holes will be sunk as the company tries to understand just how extensive the mineralisation is. Cobalt is normally a by-product, but here it is the main target, with copper and gold as the by-products.

end.

Cheers
BP

PS: I believe the details of the BHCL IPO should be released in the next few weeks also..this will be one company that's primary focus is cobalt production!

[BAPP]

Cobalt price soars as stockpiles run low
Publisher: telegraph.co.uk

The slew of gadgets and gizmos unveiled at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas could soon become much more expensive to run than anyone had previously imagined. The latest news from the oil, mining and gas industries- Cobalt, the key mineral used to make electric batteries, has soars to a new record high. Strong demand and scarce supply pushed prices in Europe to $46 a pound.

BHP Billiton, the London-listed mining giant, was only willing to sell stock at $47.50 by close of trade, according to traders. The price has soared by about $5 in the past week and is 70 per cent above the levels seen a year ago. With stockpiles being run down, the price looks set to climb further.

"There's no metal around, producers are sold out," said one European trader. Cobalt is a key component in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, one of the most common types of rechargeable battery used in consumer electronics. Radioactive versions of cobalt are used in the treatment of cancer as a tracer that can monitor drugs passing through the body.

It is widely used in the defence industry. The US Defense Logistics Agency has historically kept a large stockpile of the mineral to help secure the US military's needs. One London-based trader said the DLA held about 52m pounds of cobalt in 1993, but this has been whittled down to little more than 1.5m pounds.

"The average rate of annual sales in those 14 years has been 1,650 tonnes per annum," the trader said. "At this rate of sales the DLA will have exhausted its cobalt stocks by June of this year."