Pure cobalt does not natural exist on earth it’s always combined with other elements like nickel, copper, iron.

Cobalt (Co) is a brittle, hard, transition metal with magnetic properties similar to those of iron.

Co is used in the preparation of magnetic, wear-resistant, strength at high temperature, and high-strength alloys.

With few exceptions, cobalt ore is not usually mined for the cobalt content. Rather, it is often recovered as a by-product from the mining of ores of iron, nickel, copper, silver, manganese, zinc, and arsenic, which contain traces of cobalt. Complex processing is required to concentrate and extract cobalt from these ores.