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guidance offers little hope for cobalt prices in 2025","cmoc-guidance-gives-little-hope-for-cobalt-prices-in-2025","article/cmoc-guidance-gives-little-hope-for-cobalt-prices-in-2025",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":566,"content":576,"excerpt":680,"featured":50,"reporter":681,"_editable":685,"component":686,"seo_title":553,"categories":687,"visibility":696,"author_company":49,"featured_image":697,"seo_description":680,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":701,"formattedArticleDate":702},"e798f60f-8772-46d0-a0a0-3b90bb0e8f2a","2025-01-24 00:00",[560,563],{"slug":561,"name":562},"cmoc","CMOC",{"slug":564,"name":565},"drc","DRC",[567],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":570},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":571,"image":572,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":573},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":577,"content":578},"doc",[579,586,601,606,611,618,623,628,637,642,647,652,657,662,667],{"type":580,"attrs":581,"content":582},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":585},"CMOC, the world’s largest cobalt miner, outlined production guidance for 2025 this week that aligns closely with its previous year output: targeting 100,000-120,000 tonnes of cobalt production this year, compared to 114,000 tonnes in 2024.","text",{"type":580,"attrs":587,"content":588},{"textAlign":49},[589,591,599],{"text":590,"type":585},"Following the rapid ramp up of output from its TFM and KFM mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – which saw cobalt output more than double in 2024 and ",{"text":592,"type":585,"marks":593},"outstrip full-year production several months early",[594],{"type":595,"attrs":596},"link",{"href":597,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cmoc-surpasses-cobalt-guidance-adding-pressure-on-prices?_branch_match_id=1544411782380082981&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz7fMMEx2K4kqCEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAC7UaTkgAAAA%3D","url",{"text":600,"type":585}," – a stabilisation of CMOC’s production had largely been priced into the market this year.",{"type":580,"attrs":602,"content":603},{"textAlign":49},[604],{"text":605,"type":585},"“Sentiment coming into 2025 was already very weak and the market had been bracing itself for prices this year to look and feel a lot like last year,” said Roman Aubry, cobalt price analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":580,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609],{"text":610,"type":585},"“However, the release of CMOC’s guidance – outlining that it plans to maintain last year’s utilisation rates in 2025 – is something tangible, leaving very little room for upward price risk,” Aubry continued.",{"type":612,"attrs":613,"content":615},"heading",{"level":614,"textAlign":49},4,[616],{"text":617,"type":585},"CMOC targets copper",{"type":580,"attrs":619,"content":620},{"textAlign":49},[621],{"text":622,"type":585},"Despite a stabilisation of CMOC’s cobalt output, production remains at exceptionally-high levels, with the guidance reinforcing expectations that the cobalt market is facing another year of bumper oversupply.",{"type":580,"attrs":624,"content":625},{"textAlign":49},[626],{"text":627,"type":585},"“On the one hand, this stable, predictable weak price environment is positive for buyers – especially given the lack of sophisticated price risk management solutions available to them. But, for established miners and market aspirants, 2025 looks set to be another year where success will be measured by surviving rather than thriving,” Aubry said.",{"type":580,"attrs":629,"content":630},{"textAlign":49},[631],{"type":632,"attrs":633},"image",{"id":49,"alt":634,"src":635,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":636},"","https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdyUirHnrmOdvohTB6xTabAxJYnLwDvzP3pvvuSmVsFl2HOTn00sU-vlAfMERLvxPQckvoF6ngwY-Q5DDwQsRm7HdCIErlYWzHBQYYlF3A141ZkyTukk_LQM4D_HZFaAJ52PmZOEg?key=OSsPyp5vzNbBxVODjxACWugd",{},{"type":580,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":585},"CMOC has prioritised copper over cobalt fundamentals, due to the red metal’s bullish price outlook and China’s strategic drive for supply self-sufficiency to support its clean energy and artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions.",{"type":580,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645],{"text":646,"type":585},"The Chinese miner is targeting copper production this year of between 600,000 and 660,000 tonnes, compared to around 650,000 tonnes in 2024.",{"type":612,"attrs":648,"content":649},{"level":614,"textAlign":49},[650],{"text":651,"type":585},"Is CMOC’s production sustainable?",{"type":580,"attrs":653,"content":654},{"textAlign":49},[655],{"text":656,"type":585},"But doubts remain about how long the current level of cobalt production can continue. Data from the miner shows their sites are running well above the stated capacity for cobalt.",{"type":580,"attrs":658,"content":659},{"textAlign":49},[660],{"text":661,"type":585},"Benchmark analysts point to two main factors influencing higher production: “CMOC is running its KFM site above its stated mill capacity, and is also using high-grade ore, meaning the cobalt content in the ore being processed is much higher than the average grade of their reserves,” according to Will Talbot, research manager at Benchmark.",{"type":580,"attrs":663,"content":664},{"textAlign":49},[665],{"text":666,"type":585},"This suggests cobalt production from KFM will eventually decline as ore feed is expected to return to normal capacity, and the utilisation of high-grade ore means future grades will drop, unless CMOC significantly increases its resource estimates.",{"type":580,"attrs":668,"content":669},{"textAlign":49},[670,672,678],{"text":671,"type":585},"However, CMOC is expected to once again expand its operations in 2027 to sustain copper production – which is set to support cobalt output from CMOC’s African sites above 2024 levels until the early 2030s, according to the ",{"text":673,"type":585,"marks":674},"Benchmark Cobalt Forecast",[675],{"type":595,"attrs":676},{"href":677,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/data-reports/forecast",{"text":679,"type":585},".","CMOC, the world’s largest cobalt miner, outlined production guidance for 2025 this week that aligns closely with its previous year output: targeting 100,000-120,000 tonnes of cobalt production this year, compared to 114,000 tonnes in 2024. Following the rapid ramp up of output from its TFM and KFM mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) […]",[682],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":683},{"job_title":571,"image":684,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},{"filename":573},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e798f60f-8772-46d0-a0a0-3b90bb0e8f2a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[688,690,693],{"slug":689,"name":115},"cobalt",{"slug":691,"name":692},"copper","Copper",{"slug":694,"name":695},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":634,"name":634,"focus":634,"title":634,"source":634,"filename":698,"copyright":634,"fieldtype":699,"meta_data":700,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bb7cdd80f1/bm-cobalt-photograph-for-source-from-harry.jpg","asset",{"alt":634,"title":634,"source":634,"copyright":634},"Jan 24, 2025","24th January 2025",[],[],1789748838767]