From an NPR article:
But then, something rather shocking happened. The price of cobalt–around $40 a pound in early 2022–started to drop. The price fell from $40 a pound to $35. It was at $25 a pound by the time everyone was gathered in the mountains of Idaho for the ribbon-cutting.
"After that, the cobalt price steadily collapsed," Crocker recalls. The price hit $15 a pound. At that price, Jervois would lose money pulling the cobalt out of the ground. So, just weeks before the mine was set to open, Crocker made a tough call.
Current price for cobalt on the spot market is 13.00 USD per pound.
Crocker says as soon as the price rises to at least $20 a pound, he will be able to open the mine in a matter of weeks... recut that ribbon and start digging.
Let's crunch some numbers!
2,600,000 pounds of cobalt divided by 12 months = 216,667 pounds a month.
Make up the difference between 20 bucks a pound and 13 bucks a pound - 7 bucks.
216,667 pounds times 7 bucks = $1,516,667, about $1.5 million dollars.
We just forked over 200 million to the Piano Puppet in the Ukraine.
200 million divided by 1.5 million = 133 months = 11 years.
We could subsidize that mine for at least 10 years easily on the grift cash we just gave to The Vloddy.
Much of the DRC’s cobalt is under the influence or control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which also has a modest little goal of taking down America and dominating the world.
Plus from Mining.com article:
What China’s increasing control over cobalt resources in the DRC means for the West – report
https://www.mining.com/what-chinas-increasing-control-over-cobalt-resources-in-the-drc-means-for-the-west-report/
So what is China doing just like a good capitalist?
1. Hook the customer on the need for your product. China has used all means to convince the West we need EVs.
2. Gain control directly and indirectly over the source of the product.
3. Lower cost of production which lowers cost of product below Western production costs.
4. Lower prices in the market below Western competition cost, therefore closing the competition’s production. Drive Western product out of business with losses and environmental issues.
With monopoly control over key material component, use that control to maximize profit and/or punish West when necessary. West needs EVs because the environmental movement (communism) kills the ICE car production. West need cobalt which only China and their surrogates can provide. China demands all types of concessions, monetary and political or China goes to war and West has no more cobalt. Oh did I mention that China hooked the West on cobalt and KILLED the West’s ONLY alternative, IEC powered vehicles?
Hard to compete with slave labor.