Pentagon Seeks First Cobalt Stockpile Since 1990 in $500 Million Tender

The U.S. Department of Defense has issued a tender to acquire up to 7,480 tonnes of alloy-grade cobalt worth as much as $500 million over the next five years, reviving a Cold-War-era strategy of stockpiling critical minerals. The solicitation, published by the Defense Logistics Agency, marks the Pentagon’s first cobalt purchase since 1990 and sets a minimum contract value of $2 million. Cobalt is used in high-temperature turbine superalloys, batteries and permanent magnets for missiles and rockets, applications that Washington says are vulnerable to supply disruptions. The Pentagon limited bids to three established refiners—Vale’s Canadian unit, Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining and Norway’s Glencore Nikkelverk—underscoring its preference for production outside China, which dominates global cobalt processing. The move follows President Donald Trump’s March invocation of emergency powers to expand domestic output of critical minerals after Beijing’s export curbs sent rare-earth magnet shipments tumbling 75% in June. It also dovetails with the launch of a Strategic Minerals Reserve at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada, where the government plans to store, refine and recycle materials needed for defense and energy technologies.