The Defense Logistics Agency said today it expects to re-issue and update a previously cancelled solicitation for cobalt metal worth up to $500 million in awards at the end of the month…"The cancelled cobalt metal solicitation is for rotating aerospace applications, which requires specific qualified cobalt sources,” DLA said…DLA intends to issue an updated call by the end of the month, and the agency expects to make an award in early February…Cobalt is one of many critical mineral supply chains dominated by China. While the U.S. has increased efforts to ensure access to critical minerals for defense, commercial and energy applications via negotiation with allies and changes in domestic policy, a recent report from the International Energy Agency says concentration in the global minerals market has so far only increased...Aside from defense applications, cobalt is also considered a key energy mineral -- a market that has been especially susceptible to concentration in recent years.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil began his high-stakes visit to Asia by calling on China to facilitate “reliable access” to critical raw materials such as rare earths, warning that “unjustified” export curbs are dangerous for the world economy…After discussions in Beijing with Vice Premier He Lifeng, Klingbeil said he had received assurances that German and European concerns about Chinese export restrictions on critical materials “will be taken seriously.”…For Klingbeil, a Social Democrat who is also Germany’s vice chancellor, a top priority is to secure access to critical raw materials and make progress on curbing Chinese overcapacity in key sectors of the German economy like steel and electric vehicles.

Today, it’s not so hard to take the plunge on an EV in Peru. Tesla still lacks a showroom but there’s been an influx of Chinese models from the likes of BYD, Geely and GWM, which sell electric vehicles here at around 60% of the price of a Tesla, as well as legacy manufacturers such as Toyota , Kia and Hyundai …Chinese car makers are widening their footprint across South America with both traditional vehicles and EVs. EVs are still a small slice of the 135,394 new cars sold in Peru in the nine months to September, according to the country's automotive association, but they are on the rise. Sales of hybrid and electric vehicles hit a record 7,256 units in that period, up 44% year on year….China has been ramping up sales since the opening last year of the Port of Chancay, north of Lima. The Chinese-built megaport has halved trans-Pacific shipping times just as Chinese manufacturers face rising barriers to entry in the United States and greater trade restrictions in Europe…Chinese carmakers face a profit-destroying price war at home and a growing surplus of new cars rolling out of Chinese factory lines. Much of this excess is being shipped overseas to the Middle East, Central Asia and Latin America, according to global automotive analyst Felipe Munoz at JATO Dynamics…EV penetration in Latin America, including Mexico and Central America, doubled in 2024 to around 4%, and continues to grow, boosted by government incentives and an influx of affordable Chinese models, the International Energy Agency said in its Global EV Outlook 2025…Latest figures show EV market share hit 10.6% of new cars registered in Chile in September, 9.4% in Brazil in August, and 28% in Uruguay in the third quarter of the year — all record highs, according to local car associations and consultancy firms. In Europe and China, half of new cars registered by mid-2025 were EVs (56% and 51% respectively). In Japan and the U.S. rates were lower, closer to 2% and 10% respectively…Chinese brands have gained legitimacy and scale, he said. They collaborate with local banks to offer credit lines and prize draws. Competitive prices are also instrumental in their appeal. Prices in Uruguay for Chinese battery electric vehicles (BEV) from BYD start at $19,000.

Rescuers are searching for survivors after a bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 32 people…Unauthorised miners forced their way into the southern Kalando mine on Saturday despite being banned from the site, said local official Roy Kaumba Mayonde…Military personnel guarding the site then reportedly fired guns, causing the bridge to collapse after panicked miners rushed across it, government mining agency SAEMAPE said…Such accidents are not uncommon in DR Congo, where around 1.5 to 2 million people work in the unregulated artisanal mining industry, which feeds the global demand for copper, cobalt and other minerals…DR Congo is the world's largest supplier of cobalt, which has defence and aerospace applications as well as being essential for batteries in electric vehicles.