The development status of Chinese cobalt powder industry

In recent years, it was rising sharply due to the rapid development of the world's battery industry. There are mainly 10 cobalt powder enterprises in China, the total production capacity is 1850 tons/year. China is also one of the world's major cobalt consumption countries, the consumption accounts for about 10% of the total world consumption. At present, China's demand for cobalt is 3000 tons per year. In cemented carbide industry, cobalt powder is mainly used for adhesives, an average content is about 10%, the consumption reached 800 tons/year, accounted for 33% of total consumption, and the average annual growth is 5.4%. From the international market demand, the world's cobalt consumption has been on an upward trend since the 1990s, the average annual growth is 2.6%. In 1998, the world's cobalt consumption was reached 29,500 tons. Based on the data reported, in the next few years, the world's cobalt powder consumption will increase 8,000 to 10,000 tons, the used amount is rising sharply.

Powder metallurgy is an ancient industry, a kind of traditional metallurgical processes. Ancient people have been used gold, silver, copper, bronze and some of its oxide powder for coating, applied to pottery, jewelry and other utensils coloring, decorate. Americans produced tungsten wire by the powder metallurgy method, laid the foundation of modern powder metallurgy industry. To the beginning of last century, metallurgy skills gradually get improved. After World War II, metallurgy skills gained rapidly developing, and gradually form a modern powder metallurgy industry. Cobalt powder industry is mainly used metal powder as raw material for processing molding. In the modern development, it also has the process of mixing metal and nonmetal powder to make new materials. Therefore, the powder metallurgy process is of great significance for capital savings and waste resources recycling.

China is a large country that shortage of cobalt powder resources but demand for a large amount, cobalt oxide is mainly used in carbide smelting, lithium battery manufacturing, ceramic color glaze production and other industrial fields. It is a long history of china produced cobalt oxide by alloy scrap which containing cobalt powder, in the production, marketing, application and other aspects of cobalt oxide, there is already a good industrial base and favorable conditions, on this basis, we should improve the production technology and equipment level, and expand production to meet market requirements.

Cobalt powder and its products are important strategic materials, especially should pay close attention on the military application, it should do a good job on the protection and development work for cobalt and its products. In order to faster developed cobalt oxide production, the supply of raw materials is very important, can be imported a number of cobalt-containing alloy scrap from the international market to meet the production requirements of the raw material.

After 1950s, Chinese economy was rapidly developed. In addition to cobalt powder industry, various industries were started and fast developed. It was not until 1970s, with the socialist market economic system gradually established, China achieved great development in various industries, the technology of metallurgy industry was gradually improved. Today, Chinese metallurgical industry was completed the true sense of rapid development.

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