 During the 19th century , a significant part of the world 's production of cobalt blue ( a dye made with cobalt compounds and alumina ) and smalt ( cobalt glass powdered for use for pigment purposes in ceramics and painting ) was carried out at the Norwegian Blaafarveværket . The first mines for the production of smalt in the 16th century were located in Norway , Sweden , Saxony and Hungary . With the discovery of cobalt ore in New Caledonia in 1864 , the mining of cobalt in Europe declined . With the discovery of ore deposits in Ontario , Canada in 1904 and the discovery of even larger deposits in the Katanga Province in the Congo in 1914 , the mining operations shifted again . When the Shaba conflict started in 1978 , the copper mines of Katanga Province nearly stopped production . The impact on the world cobalt economy from this conflict was smaller than expected : cobalt is a rare metal , the pigment is highly toxic , and the industry had already established effective ways for recycling cobalt materials . In some cases , industry was able to change to cobalt @-@ free alternatives . 
