(Yicai Global) Aug. 16 -- Huayou Cobalt's overseas arm has terminated its investment in a cobalt ore mine in the Congo as prices for the element -- popular in new-energy vehicle batteries -- decline.

Huayou International Mining Hong Kong is becoming less profitable as prices slide, the Zhejiang-based firm said in a statement yesterday. Mining projects have a long development period and the company would need to pump even more cash into the mine after buying the initial stake, it added.

Huayou Cobalt's share price [SHA:603799] was down 1.2 percent at CNY26.20 (USD3.72) at the lunch break today.

The unit agreed in December 2017 to purchase 51 percent of Lucky Resources, which owns 100 percent of licensed Congo miner New Minerals Investment, for USD66.3 million and still has 85 percent of the fee left to pay. It had planned the acquisition to advance its resource development in Africa and to enhance its upstream distribution.

Cobalt is widely used in batteries for NEVs, computers and other consumer electronics, and prices surged several years ago thanks largely to electric cars becoming more popular. But market saturation and an increasing use of nickel-based batteries have turned cobalt prices on their head.

Editor: James Boynton