cobalt ore

Cobalt is extracted from a number of minerals, the main ones being smaltite, (CoNi)As₃; linnaeite, Co₃S₄; cobaltite, CoAsS; and glaucodot, (CoFe)AsS.

All commercial cobalt is obtained as a by-product of other metals, usually associated with other ores, such as copper. The Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) is the largest producer of cobalt, and it is obtained there as a by-product of the copper industry. Other producers include Canada and Morocco. Cobalt is also found in the manganese nodules that occur on the ocean floor, and was successfully refined in 1988 from the Pacific Ocean nodules, although this process has yet to prove economic.