Posted on 19 Mar 2025
Chinese miner Lygend Resources is reportedly selling cobalt produced in Indonesia to US companies to avoid Washington’s tariffs.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has imposed extra levies of 20% on Chinese imports, Kallanish notes. Canadian critical minerals are also facing a 10% import tariff.
With the additional duties, US buyers are now increasing their imports from Indonesia to avoid Trump’s tariffs and keep the costs down, Reuters reports. Lygend operates the PT Halmahera Jaya Feronikel project and is planning another one on Obi Island with a capacity of 14,250 tonnes/year of cobalt.
Last year, Indonesia produced 28,000 tonnes of cobalt, largely as a by-product of nickel production, according to the US Geological Survey. Data published by the federal agency also shows the US produced 300 t of cobalt last year, and imported 11,000 t.
Canada, meanwhile, produced 4,500 t of the metal and supplied 13% of the US imports between 2020 and 2023.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Canada was the second-largest source of imported cobalt for the US in 2023, with $78 million worth of the mineral being supplied.
Source:Kallanish
