US Cancels $500 Million Cobalt Tender in Critical Minerals Blow

The US Defense Department canceled a tender to buy cobalt, in a fresh sign of the challenges facing Western countries trying to bolster domestic supplies of the battery metal.

The Defense Logistics Agency first sought offers in mid-August for up to 7,500 tons of cobalt over the next five years in a contract worth as much as $500 million. It was the US government’s first attempt to acquire the metal since 1990, Bloomberg News previously reported.

The DLA extended the deadline for offers multiple times, from the original due date of Aug. 29 out to Oct. 15. Now, ...