Recovering cobalt from primary and secondary sources

Cobalt is designated as a minor metal in the marketplace. Apart from a few exceptions, it is produced as a by-product of either nickel or copper and is used in a wide range of specialist applications. This article outlines a number of the processes used for extracting cobalt from nickel and copper ores and highlights the differences in terms of chemical composition and physical form in the cobalt produced. The suitability of the different types of cobalt for particular end-use applications is discussed, as are some of the techniques utilized in industry to allow greater flexibility in the choice of cobalt.