Apple Seeking To Source Cobalt Directly For Battery Production

Apple is currently on its way to buying cobalt directly from miners making sure it will have enough for its battery supply as the electric vehicle market takes off.

According to Bloomberg and those familiar with the matter, Apple is seeking to secure several thousand metric tons of cobalt for more than five years.

The talks have been happening for more than a year and might not even happen, reports say.

Cobalt is a key component of the Apple iPhone and normally lets its battery makers source the metal. A quarter of global cobalt production is used in smartphones.

Bloomberg says this puts Apple in competition with car manufacturers and battery producers such as BMW and Volkswagen.

For the past 18 months the price of cobalt has tripled where it trades US$80,000 a tonne.

Apple has been strengthening its relationship over the past few years with cobalt suppliers after an Amnesty International report claimed the company’s Chinese suppliers were buying cobalt from mines who use child labour.