Exclusive-Glencore to buy almost $115 million of cobalt from industry veteran Weisfisch, sources say

By Pratima Desai

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Glencore has agreed to buy nearly 2,000 metric tons of cobalt worth almost $115 million at current prices from industry veteran Rami Weisfisch in a landmark deal, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The material, which is vital for defense and military equipment, is expected to be shipped to the United States for inclusion in its planned stockpile, the two sources added.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is actively seeking to secure critical materials including cobalt to reduce its reliance on China, the dominant global supplier and processor of metals and minerals needed for strategic industries.

China has leveraged its control to ban exports of critical minerals, introduce quotas and new regulations.

London-listed miner Glencore agreed at the end of last year to buy the cobalt from Weisfisch over 12 months in 2026 using a formula tied to prices assessed by price reporting agency Fastmarkets, the sources said.

Weisfisch and Glencore declined to comment.

COBALT ACQUIRED BY WEISFISCH IN 2015

The deal marks the end of Weisfisch’s half-a-century involvement in the cobalt market, the sources said. The cobalt acquired by Weisfisch in 2015 is currently stored in Europe and the United States.

The sources expect Glencore to sell the cobalt to the U.S. under Project Vault, an initiative to stockpile critical minerals backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and $2 billion in private funding.

CEO Gary Nagle said at a briefing last week Glencore would participate in the project.

The agreement between Weisfisch and Switzerland-based Glencore came after the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency cancelled a tender to purchase cobalt in October last year. The tender originally announced on August 19 went through several amendments before it was withdrawn.

The DLA told Reuters last year it still intended to purchase cobalt for the National Defense Stockpile, but that it was reassessing its strategy and had no target date for reissuing the tender. 

It was initially looking for offers from only three companies – Vale’s Port Colborne and Long Harbour plants in Canada, Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining and Glencore’s Nikkelverk operation in Norway.

CONGO QUOTAS

Expectations of stronger cobalt demand, combined with tight supplies created by top producer Democratic Republic of Congo suspending exports from the end of February to mid-October when it imposed quotas, have propelled prices higher.

At $26 a lb or $57,320 a ton, they are 160% above levels seen in February 2025. 

Congo’s cobalt is a byproduct of copper production and comes in the form of hydroxide which is easily turned into cobalt sulphate used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices.

Worst affected by Congo’s export ban and quotas is China, the world’s biggest cobalt processor, where consumers have been scrambling to secure supplies.

(Reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Veronica Brown, Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey)