First Atlantic acknowledges cobalt importance with name change
TSX-V-listed First Atlantic Nickel Corporation has announced a name change to “First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corporation” in recognition of the natural cobalt content of awaruite – which the company is focused on developing.
Awaruite is a rare, naturally magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy mineral with a high grade of nickel content.
The company's Pipestone XL project in Newfoundland hosts broad zones of widely disseminated awaruite nickel and cobalt mineralization.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has recognised awaruite’s strategic potential, identifying the natural alloy as much easier to concentrate than pentlandite – the principal sulphide of nickel. It says awaruite deposits could help alleviate prolonged nickel concentrate shortages.
COBALT CONCENTRATION
Cobalt is essential to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and to nickel-cobalt superalloys used in jet-engine turbine blades, industrial gas turbines, and a wide range of aerospace and defence applications.
The USGS estimates that about 51% of US cobalt consumption in 2024 was used in superalloys, primarily for aircraft gas turbine engines, with additional demand across batteries, chemicals, cemented carbides, and medical implants.
Despite its strategic importance, the global cobalt supply chain remains heavily concentrated in a single foreign jurisdiction.
According to the US Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, “the DRC produces 80% of the world’s cobalt, with Chinese State-owned enterprises and policy banks controlling 80% of the total output”.
“China’s monopoly over cobalt battery materials may imply a serious supply risk to non-Chinese battery producing and consuming industries – especially given rising geopolitical tensions and the re-emergence of critical mineral export restrictions including gallium for semiconductors, germanium for solar panels, graphite for lithium-ion batteries, and rare earth elements,” the institute states.
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