For many years cobalt has been viewed as an uninteresting byproduct of copper and nickel mining, but these sentiments are rapidly changing with the rise of new energy technology.
Lithium-ion batteries have become incredibly important for new technology, such as those being produced by Tesla Motors. Over the past year Elon Musk has begun the mass production of these batteries in the $5 billion gigafactory that his company constructed. The increased demand and production of lithium-ion batteries has changed cobalt’s reputation from a mining byproduct to a popular commodity.