Soaring cobalt prices threaten smartphones industry worldwideJanuary 15, 2018 - 12:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The production of electric cars, smartphones and high-tech gadgets could be in jeopardy as a result of a rapid rise in prices for cobalt, RT says. Cobalt is a critical metal for Lithium-ion batteries, whose price jumped from $33,200 to $75,000 per ton in a single year. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the main supplier of cobalt - the Democratic Republic of the Congo - is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries of the world, where workers, including children, labor in harsh and dangerous conditions to meet the world's soaring demand for cobalt. According to Statista, the world's cobalt reserves in 2016 amounted to a little over 6 million tons. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular, cobalt reserves amount to 3.4 million tons, 1 million tons in Australia, 500,000 tons in Cuba, 290,000 tons in the Philippines, 270,000 tons in Canada, 270 thousand tons in Zambia, and 250 thousand tons in Russia. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |