New project launches and ramp-ups set to lift Indonesia’s cobalt output in 2026

Indonesia, erstwhile a insignificant subordinate successful the planetary cobalt market, has emerged arsenic a important force, mostly driven by concern successful high-pressure acerb leach (HPAL) facilities. In 2025, the state is estimated to person produced 49,300 tonnes (t) of cobalt, a 42.6% summation implicit the erstwhile year, chiefly driven by the summation successful proviso astatine Ningbo Lygend Mining’s PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Project, owed to ongoing enlargement and commissioning of further HPAL accumulation lines, which are reaching towards afloat operational capacity. The PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Project suspended operations successful 2024 to chopped operational costs owed to the prevailing marketplace conditions specified arsenic oversupply and little prices.

In addition, the ongoing ramp-up of Zhejiang Huayou’s Huafei Cobalt-Nickel Project, which started accumulation successful Q1 2024, further supported the country’s maturation trajectory successful 2025.

Looking ahead, the country’s cobalt output is expected to turn further successful 2026, by an yearly maturation complaint of 21.2% to scope 59,800t. This volition beryllium supported by the commencement of the Pomalaa and Morowali coupled with the ongoing ramp-up of the Huafei Cobalt-Nickel Project and ongoing enlargement astatine the PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Project.

Over the past decade, Indonesia has witnessed a steep emergence successful cobalt production, expanding from conscionable 1,300t successful 2015 to 49,300t successful 2025, making it the second-largest shaper globally. This translation is simply a effect of the government's proactive attack to processing a home proviso concatenation for electrical vehicles (EVs).

The export prohibition successful 2020 proved to beryllium a pivotal moment, attracting important overseas investment, chiefly from Chinese companies, into the country's nickel and cobalt processing industries.

The Indonesia Growth Project (IGP) Pomalaa, which is owned jointly by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., PT Vale Indonesia, and Ford Motor Company, is simply a premier illustration of this. The task is processing a nickel excavation and an HPAL processing plant, and the associated excavation infrastructure to process nickel ore. Currently, the task is advancing its operation activities and is scheduled to commence operations successful Q4 2026. The HPAL plant, erstwhile operational, volition nutrient mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a cardinal worldly utilized successful the accumulation of EV batteries.

Other salient investments see Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), which is jointly owned by China’s Tsingshan Holding Group (66.25%) and PT Bintang Delapan Group (33.75%) done their subsidiaries. The IMIP has galore smelters and HPAL facilities. These spouse companies make infrastructure for artillery worldly production, enabling cobalt extraction arsenic a byproduct of nickel processing.