Cobalt before price explosion?

Do you know how cobalt get its name? No? Console yourself, until recently, I knew not yet. In the Middle Ages thought the miners, cobalt was bewitched by goblins in worthless rock silver or copper, because it is confused in its natural ore the two metals to the leaves look similar, but foul odors when heated. Today we know better of course. Especially now, no one gets the idea to look at the raw material to be worthless. After all, the prices in the past twelve months have almost doubled and the "bull market" could well go a bit.

Soaring demand

Norilsk Nickel increases in the first half production of metals

Norilsk Nickel increases in the first half production of metals
30.07.2010 19:59

MOSCOW, 30 July (RIA Novosti). The Russian non-ferrous and precious metals producer Norilsk Nickel increased its output of nickel in the first half of 2010 over the previous year by three percent to 145 400 tonnes.

The company said on Friday in Moscow. The production of copper was in the reporting period by two percent to 199.1 thousand tons, of palladium by ten percent to 1.5 million ounces of platinum and has grown by 14 percent to 358,000 ounces, it was said.

Norilsk Nickel is one of the world's largest producers of non-ferrous and precious metals. In the company accounts for more than 20 percent of global production of nickel, more than ten percent of cobalt and three percent of copper production. In Russia, the Group controls 96 percent of the production of nickel, 55 percent copper and 95 percent of cobalt.

Of 25 percent of the shares are held by Interros conglomerate of billionaire Vladimir Potanin and aluminum company RUSAL the oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Cobalt material

COBALT AND COBALT ALLOYS. A white metal, Co, resembling nickel
but with a bluish tinge instead of the yellow of nickel. It is rarer and
costlier than nickel, and its price has varied widely in recent years.
Although allied to nickel, it has distinctive differences. It is more
active chemically than nickel. It is dissolved by dilute sulfuric, nitric,
or hydrochloric acid and is attacked slowly by alkalies. The oxidation
rate of pure cobalt is 25 times that of nickel. Its power of whitening
copper alloys is inferior to that of nickel, but small amounts in nickelcopper
alloys will neutralize the yellowish tinge of the nickel and
make them whiter. The metal is diamagnetic like nickel, but has