The Democratic Republic of Congo is yet to authorize a resumption of cobalt exports, almost six weeks after a ban on shipments lapsed, according to a government regulator…The Central African nation, which accounts for about three-quarters of global output of the metal, introduced strict export quotas on Oct. 16 to keep a lid on supply after exports restart. But mining companies are still waiting for permission to dispatch trucks laden with cobalt toward the border….ARECOMS said in September that miners would be allowed to ship just over 18,000 tons of the metal during the remainder of this year, and up to 96,600 tons a year in 2026 and 2027. The volumes permitted for each of the next two years are less than half the country’s production in 2024…When the ban was introduced, cobalt had dropped below $10 a pound, a level not breached for 21 years, bar a brief dip in late 2015, according to Fastmarkets data. But prices have more than doubled since then, while cobalt hydroxide — the main product exported from Congo — has jumped more than fourfold.

A U.S.-based advocacy group has filed a lawsuit in Washington accusing Apple of using minerals linked to conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda despite the iPhone maker's denials…Apple said on Wednesday it “strongly disputes” the latest allegations that the company is benefiting from forced labor and unsafe mining practices in Africa, calling the claims “baseless.”…An Apple spokesman said that 99% of the cobalt in Apple-designed batteries comes from recycled sources, and that this underscores the company’s push to cut reliance on mined material…A University of Nottingham study published this year found forced and child labour at Congolese sites linked to Apple suppliers, the lawsuit said…Congo, which supplies about 70% of the world’s cobalt and significant volumes of tin, tantalum and tungsten - used in phones, batteries and computers - did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rwanda also did not immediately respond to a request for comment…Apple says 76% of cobalt in its devices was recycled in 2024, but the IRAdvocates lawsuit alleges its accounting method allows mixing with ore from conflict zones.

A UK research team has unveiled a soft, lead-free piezoelectric material that converts motion into electricity. Its efficiency is comparable to commercial lead-based ceramics, while being easier to process and far less toxic…The hybrid material, based on bismuth iodide, is described in a new paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Researchers at the University of Oxford, the University of Birmingham and the University of Bristol developed the material, which generates an electric charge when it is pressed, bent or otherwise deformed. It can also move when an electric field is applied…Piezoelectrics sit inside autofocus systems, inkjet print heads, ultrasound transducers, car airbag sensors and an array of wearable and IoT devices that scavenge energy from motion. The global piezoelectric materials market is estimated at more than $35 billion and is growing, driven by automotive sensing, medical devices, industrial robotics and consumer electronics…The problem is that the workhorse material in this space, lead zirconate titanate (PZT), is roughly 60% lead by composition. That creates tension with tightening environmental and worker-safety regulations, especially as piezo devices proliferate. The new material contains no lead and can be made at room temperature rather than the roughly 1,000 C° processing temperatures often used for PZT ceramics…Piezoelectric research has often faced a trade-off. Rigid ceramics such as potassium sodium niobate (KNN) offer high efficiency but are brittle and difficult to process, while soft polymers such as PVDF are flexible but generate relatively weak electrical charges. The new halobismuthate helps bridge that gap, offering the mechanical compliance needed for next generation wearables while approaching the energy conversion performance typically associated with rigid, high temperature ceramics…Because the new material is processed at room temperature from solution, it could be compatible with flexible substrates and roll-to-roll manufacturing, which are attractive for wearables and large-area sensor sheets. It may also simplify integration with temperature-sensitive electronics or polymers.

The NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper critical minerals project (“NICO Project”) is comprised of a planned open pit and underground mine and concentrator in Canada’s Northwest Territories and a dedicated hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta where concentrates from the mine, and other feed sources, will be processed to value-added products. The NICO Project contains three critical minerals (cobalt, bismuth and copper) and more than one million ounces of in-situ gold as a countercyclical and highly liquid co-product to mitigate metal price volatility. Development of the vertically integrated NICO Project will strengthen North American critical mineral supply chain resilience and security, a priority for western governments that need to reduce their dependence on foreign entities of concern. The NICO Project will be a reliable producer of critical mineral products in a Tier 1 jurisdiction with supply chain transparency and custody control of the contained metals from ores through to the production of value-added critical mineral products.

Click on blue title to view the NICO Mine Site Fly-By