ABSTRACT
The 1973-1974 petroleum embargo and subsequent price rises had a clear impact on the US security position in the Middle East and a drastic effect on the nation's economy. The disruption in oil supplies that followed the political and military turmoil on the Persian Gulf in 1979-1980 again demonstrated the adverse economic and security implications of dependence on foreign nations for this critical resource. The United States has depended on foreign nations for 90 percent or more of its cobalt for more than 30 years; in 1982, the last year for which comprehensive statistics are available, 91 percent of US cobalt supplies originated in foreign nations. Price, of course, will have a major impact both on the future demand for cobalt in the United States and on the portion of that demand satisfied by foreign sources. Cobalt has not been mined domestically in the United States since 1971; whatever supplies do originate domestically are recovered from scrap.
