Cobalt-chrome turbines, and many others. The common Co-Cr alloy production requires the extraction of cobalt and chromium from cobalt oxide and chromium oxide ores. Both of the ores need to go through reduction process to obtain pure metals. Chromium usually goes through aluminothermic reduction technique, and pure cobalt can be achieved through many different ways depending on the characteristics of the specific ore. Pure metals are then fused together under vacuum either by electric arc or by induction melting. Due to the chemical reactivity of metals at high temperature, the process requires vacuum conditions or inert atmosphere to prevent oxygen uptake
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt buying cobalt mined by hand in DRC entirely. Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd is primarily a supplier of cobalt, including cobalt tetroxide, cobalt oxide, cobalt carbonate, cobalt hydroxide, cobalt oxalate, cobalt sulfate, and cobalt monoxide. It is headquartered in the Tongxiang Economic Development Zone of Zhejiang, China. A subsidiary, Congo DongFang International Mining, has been involved in several controversies around sourcing of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to a joint Amnesty International and African Resources Watch report, Congo DongFang International Mining, a subsidiary of Huayou Cobalt, sources cobalt from primitive "artisanal" mines in the