3.11.2.1 Production   

The exploitation of cobalt as a by-product depends primarily on the main mineral. By the end of 1997, the number of exploited by-product cobalt occurrences had reached 66 in China with retained reserves of 251,000 tons, which accounted for 52.7% of the total retained reserves. Of the exploited occurrences, those without recovery of cobalt have retained reserves constituting 13% of the total reserves. For the occurrences where by-product cobalt is recovered, their retained reserves make up 40% of the total reserves.   

The mines at Zibo in Shandong, Daye in Hubei and Zhongtiaoshan in Shanxi recover cobalt by production of Co-bearing pyrite concentrates, the recovery rate of the concentrates being 26%~35%. At Jinchuan, Gansu, cobalt in Cu-Ni ores is dressed together with copper and nickel and then extracted from waste residue of nickel smelting operation. The total recovery rate of cobalt is only 32%~35.9%. The mines recovering cobalt are mainly distributed in Gansu, Hubei, Shandong, Sichuan, Hainan, Anhui, Jilin, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Shanxi, Hunan and other provinces. The outputs of cobalt ore and related products in China in recent years are listed in Table 3.11.1.

Table 3.11.1 Annual Outputs of Cobalt Ore and Related Products in China

3.11.2.2 Distribution of Production   

At present, the mines producing Co-bearing pyrite concentrate in China are mainly located at Zibo in Shandong, Daye in Hubei, and Bizigou, Wenxi county, Shanxi. Huludao Zinc Smetery began to recover cobalt from Co-bearing pyrite concentrate in 1966. In the late 1980s, the production was stopped due to its high cost. Nowadays, most Co-bearing pyrite concentrate serves as raw material for production of sulfuric acid, thus leading to the waste of cobalt resources. This is a pity for such a country short of cobalt resources as China. In this respect, Zibo Cobalt Industry Co. Ltd. in Shandong (formerly Shandong Zibo Cobalt Smeltery) and Guanglin Chemical Industry and Metallurgy Co. Ltd. in Hubei (formerly Hubei Guanghua Phosphate Fertilizer Plant) are doing a good job. They make full use of Co-bearing pyrite concentrate and cobalt-bearing raw material to produce various cobalt salts, thus fully utilizing cobalt resources.   

Since the development of Cu-Ni ores at Jinchuan in Gansu, Huili in Sichuan and Panshi in Jilin, Cu-Ni sulfides have become important resources for cobalt recovery. At present, electrolytic cobalt in China is mainly produced by Jinchuan Nonferrous Metal Company in Gansu, Sichuan Copper and Nickel Co. Ltd. (reorganized from Chengdu Electric Smeltery and Lalachang Copper Mine) and some small smelteries in Zhejiang.   

Ganzhuo Cobalt Smeltery is also a major cobalt producer in China, but its raw material is imported modderite ore. Owing to the environmental requirements, its production is limited to 200 t/a. The metallurgical capacity, products and other related data of cobalt smelteries in China are summarized in Table 3.11.2.

Table 3.11.2 Metallurgical and production capacities of cobalt in China