Morocco Endeavors to Increase Cobalt Production

With Morocco’s first cobalt plant in Marrakech set to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2022, the country intends to exploit its cobalt reserves as part of the supply chain for rechargeable batteries.

Rabat – With Morocco’s first cobalt plant in Marrakech set to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2022, the country intends to exploit its cobalt reserves as part of the supply chain for rechargeable batteries.

Abdellah Mouttaqui, secretary general of Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining (ONHYM), told Reuters that the North African country is making efforts to increase its cobalt output.

Mouttaqqui noted that Morocco has the 11th-largest reserves and ranks ninth globally, producing 1,900 tonnes a year.

The demand for the mineral saw an upward trend in recent years due to an increase of rechargeable batteries for electric cars, phones, and other goods, he explained, highlighting that ONHYM is exploring other cobalt reserves in the Siroua region – a peak in Morocco’s Anti-Atlas mountain range – with Moroccan mining Managem.

Managem announced last month reaching an agreement with Glenore, a global leader in commodities, to open a cobalt plant in Guemassa, 37 kilometers from Marrakech.

While most cobalt is produced as a coproduct from the processing of nickel or cobalt ores, around 15% is produced from other primary sources, such as Moroccan cobalt–arsenic ores.

Moutaqqui also highlighted that the ore in Morocco, especially in the Bou Azzer mine, one of the oldest of the Managem mines in the country, is widely known and valued for its high purity.

In 2020, Morocco signed a cobalt extraction agreement with German luxury manufacturer BMW, allowing the German company to move cobalt extraction operations from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to a supply deal with Managem.