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Roskill: graphite prices could push higher on tightening markets for batteries & electrodes

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Despite some fallback during the winter months, prices remained above US$15,600/t through February and March 2018. Outokumpu reported in its interim report for Q1 2018 that high graphite electrode costs were still having a negative impact on steelmaking profits in Europe. Batteries underpin growth in natural graphite.

Price 207
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Roskill: Spread of COVID-19 threatens cobalt supply; bottlenecks out of DRC

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In a 2018 open-access paper assessing China’s domestic and foreign influence in the global cobalt supply chain, the USGS authors noted that: The security of China’s foreign mine and intermediate cobalt supplies, therefore, is heavily dependent on stable production in the DRC and continuous access to maritime supply routes between Africa and China.

Supplies 307
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UN: world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and could peak at nearly 11 billion around 2100

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In 2018, for the first time in history, persons aged 65 or above outnumbered children under five years of age globally. The report includes updated population estimates from 1950 to the present for 235 countries or areas, based on detailed analyses of all available information about the relevant historical demographic trends.

Asia 220