Synthetic Gosu: Cobalt Production Areas

Synthetic gosu was developed in the early Meiji period by Shinkai Heizaemon, Shinkai Suminosuke, and Shinkai Takeji under the guidance of Wagner.

This synthetic gosu is commonly used today.

The blue color of gosu is often called cobalt blue, because the main ingredient of synthetic gosu is cobalt.

Cobalt has been used since the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, but was discovered chemically by a Swedish man named Brandt in 1735. The name cobalt comes from the German word for earth fairy.

Cobalt is called a rare metal and is not found anywhere. We will explain the origins of cobalt, the raw material for synthetic gosu.

First, let me explain what rare metals are.

Cobalt, the raw material for synthetic gosu, is a rare metal

Metals are classified into base metals and rare metals.
Japan relies almost entirely on imports for both base metals and rare metals. Base metals include iron, copper, lead, zinc, etc. Cobalt is classified as a rare metal.

These rare metals are rare metals and are called minerals in the industrial world. There is no internationally agreed definition of rare metals. One definition is "metals that are economically and technically difficult to extract as a single metal."

Furthermore, rare metals have the excellent property of being able to form alloys with other elements, resulting in unprecedented performance and functionality. Cobalt has ferromagnetism, high temperature resistance, catalytic properties, and corrosion resistance.
Cobalt has ferromagnetic properties, high temperature resistance, catalytic properties, and corrosion resistance.

Cobalt has other uses besides pottery gosu,
・Positive electrode (+) material for lithium-ion batteries used in EVs (electric vehicles) ・Additive element for steel materials to strengthen the material ・As an alloy of iron and cobalt, material for magnetic heads ・Blue particles in silica gel (cobalt chloride changes color from blue to red when it absorbs water)
It is widely used in a variety of applications, including as an additive to high-speed steel (HISCO) and in magnets made of the rare earth elements samarium and cobalt (samarium-cobalt magnets). In particular, the price of cobalt has risen dramatically as demand for EVs has soared. Now, we will explain where this rare metal, cobalt, is produced.

Synthetic Gosu: Cobalt Production Areas

Here are the world's cobalt reserves and production by country.

World cobalt reserves (total: 7,100,000 tons)

Created by the author based on JOGMEC Mineral Resources Material Flow 2021

Cobalt ore production in 2021 (total 140,000 t)

Created by the author based on JOGMEC Mineral Resources Material Flow 2021

The Democratic Republic of Congo has by far the largest cobalt reserves and production.

Therefore, cobalt resources are unevenly distributed.

- Cobaltite (CoAsS) (sulfide and arsenide of cobalt)
- Heterogenite (CoO(OH)) (hydrated cobalt oxide)
- Linnaeite (CoCo2S4) (sulfide of cobalt and nickel)
- Smaltite ((Co,Ni)As3-X) (cobalt arsenide)

and are produced as by-products of these (copper, copper-nickel, nickel).

Cobalt is concentrated in the Congo, so it may become difficult to obtain it as a raw material for synthetic gosu in the future.

This time we introduced the raw materials for synthetic gosu.

Over the years, we have adjusted the balance of these ingredients to create a beautiful gosu color.
If you would like to purchase our synthetic gosu, you can do so from this link.

Reference: 47 types of rare metals designated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. * indicates rare earth elements