Everything You Should Know About the Ontario Cobalt Belt

The town of Cobalt, Ontario is a small Canadian town with a 2016 population of just over 1,000, but that number will most likely increase in the coming years. The town is located just a few hours north of the American border, and it is the hub of renewed interest in the region thanks to the explosion of a new technology that no one expected.

Cobalt is a byproduct of the process required to mine silver, and when the area was first discovered, it was found to be rich with veins of silver. The town of Cobalt was founded as a mining town in the early 1900s, and it was fairly active until the 1930s. Beyond some brief periods of renewed vigor, the town has relatively shuttered. However, that may all be about to change.

For the longest time, there was no general interest in cobalt beyond the fact that it was known to be a byproduct of acquiring silver. There have been some uses for cobalt up until now, but none that warranted full-scale mining operations that could compete with global cobalt producers, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which produces about half of the world’s supply of cobalt in the process of mining copper.

However, something happened in the very recent years that has caused a surge in the demand for the byproduct metal. One of the many uses for cobalt is that it is essential for the production of certain types of large scale batteries. There hasn’t been much of a demand for batteries of this nature outside of commercial utility, but the advent of electric cars as a legitimately viable alternative has sparked a renewed interest in cobalt that even the world’s greatest producers can’t fully meet.

There are also some political issues in the mix. Companies that want to mine specifically for cobalt, or anything for that matter, have a much easier time doing so in Canada than they do in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example. Other moderately successful mining sites include the African nations of Zambia and the Central African Republic.

The Ontario silver belt is certainly the best option in terms of access, at least for those who only want cobalt. That makes it a prime mining location. The fact that it once served as a mining community is also a big plus since many of the community members are familiar with the lifestyle, and a lot of the mines have already been dug. In some instances, all one would need to do is collect the cobalt ore from wherever it was discarded in the past.

Property is also relatively cheap in Cobalt since the town has all but died over the last 50 years or so. That means mining companies can move in easily and set up operations without much effort or resistance. Many existing members of the community welcome the new mining operations since they will bring revitalization with them. It’s possible that the town of Cobalt could have a population of over 10,000 by 2030.

Canada’s mining history is quite rich, so the explosive growth that the town of Cobalt should see in the coming years is nothing new to them as a nation. Large-scale batteries are going to be necessary for shipping and other industrial or commercial utilities for a long time, and soon they will be irreplaceable for the average consumer driving a modern electric vehicle. The demand for cobalt is probably at the lowest it will be for a long time.

The beginnings of the explosive growth have already been seen. One mining company gained 90 percent market value in 2016 alone. Another company jumped more than 600 percent in the same time, yet neither of these examples are companies with any actual revenue. That shows an incredible interest is already blossoming in the region. While the town of Cobalt might need some general refurbishing on an infrastructural scale, the foundation is in place for what could be one of Canada’s most beneficial and profitable mining centers.

No one truly knows how vast the cobalt belt in Ontario expands, but it’s safe to say there is more than enough to warrant long-term mining. Investors should keep an eye on the price of cobalt over the coming years.