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On 17 February, the Cobalt Institute hosted a webinar exploring its groundbreaking new report, Artificial Intelligence: The Road to an Equitable and Sustainable Cobalt Supply, authored by Jef Caers, Professor at Stanford University and co-founder of Mineral-X, in partnership with Cobalt Institute.
The first paper of its kind for any critical mineral, the report maps both existing and emerging AI applications across the cobalt value chain, from exploration and extraction to processing and investment decision-making, and sets out a forward-looking vision for a more sustainable and equitable supply.
AI as an “intelligent agent”
Using the analogy of a self-driving car, Professor Caers described a new generation of AI systems: intelligent agents capable of acting autonomously over time to achieve defined objectives. These systems operate through a continuous cycle of action, observation and learning, planning under uncertainty and adjusting decisions as new information emerges.
As Professor Caers explained, many of the challenges facing critical mineral supply chains - from geological uncertainty to geopolitical risk - are fundamentally sequential decision-making problems. AI systems are particularly well suited to addressing these complexities.
From exploration to extraction
In exploration, intelligent agents can design drilling campaigns that test and refine geological hypotheses, reducing uncertainty across different mineral systems, including sediment-hosted, magmatic sulphide and laterite deposits, which together account for the vast majority of global cobalt production.
The discussion highlighted significant opportunities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including enhanced geophysical mapping, integration of historical datasets, improved education in quantitative methods, and the potential to apply data-driven ESG scoring frameworks.
Beyond discovery, AI can support:
- AI-assisted extraction, drawing lessons from the oil and gas sector
- Optimisation of mineral processing chains, both holistically and at individual stages
- Quantification of geological, economic and geopolitical risks across multiple time horizons
By integrating technical, economic and sustainability objectives into a single decision-making framework, AI can outperform traditional siloed models and help companies navigate complex trade-offs.
Augmentation, not replacement
A central theme of the webinar was that AI is not a substitute for human expertise.
“Without a human, an AI is a poor geologist,” said Professor Caers. “The future lies in human–AI collaboration, where technology augments professional judgement rather than replaces it.”
Looking ahead
As demand for cobalt continues to grow, building resilient, sustainable and equitable supply chains will require new tools and new ways of thinking. This report sets out a roadmap for how AI can help accelerate critical mineral supply while embedding stronger risk management and sustainability outcomes.
Read the full report here
View the webinar recording