Australia continues to be a significant force in the global picture of the nickel-cobalt industry. The past 15 years have seen significant changes in the nickel sulfide industry, with new developments mainly in Western Australia and the growth of an entirely new nickelcobalt industry based on application of new extractive technologies to Australia?s vast lateritic resources, also mainly in Western Australia. This has taken place against a background of highly volatile commodity prices and fluctuating global demand.
Slightly over half of the world?s cobalt is derived as a by-product of the nickel industry, with the rest coming from the copper industry and from primary cobalt operations
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