In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week with a stunning gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 2.7% to 7,154.2 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU)

The Computershare share price is down 3% to $26.21. This could be due to profit taking after a strong gain on Thursday and the latest inflation reading in the United States. With inflation coming in lower than expected, investors are betting that interest rates may not rise as much as feared. This would be a negative for Computershare given its positive leverage to rising rates.

Jervois Global Ltd (ASX: JRV)

The Jervois Global share price is down 19% to 40.7 cents. This follows the completion of a $231 million institutional placement and entitlement offer. The mineral exploration company raised the funds at a discount of 42 cents per share. The proceeds will be used to support the restart of the São Miguel Paulista refinery in Brazil, ramp up Idaho Cobalt Operations in the United States, and progress a bankable feasibility study for expansion of its cobalt refinery capacity in Finland.

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)

The Origin share price is down 3.5% to $7.55. This may have been driven by profit taking after a huge gain on Thursday following the receipt of a takeover approach. In addition, concerns that the $18.4 billion deal may not get approved by regulators could be weighing on sentiment today. Origin is trading well below the offer price of $9.00 cash per share.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven Coal share price is down 5% to $7.91. Investors have been hitting the sell button on Friday amid concerns the government could introduce temporary taxes on coal miners. When asked about the potential for a new temporary tax on gas and thermal coal, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: "Well, what we know is that we can't just sit back and watch while energy prices go through the roof for households and for businesses."

The post Why Computershare, Jervois Global, Origin, and Whitehaven Coal shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL) share price is deep in a sea of red on Friday, plunging 18% to an intraday low of $4.30 near the open.

Shares in the environmental technology company have clawed back some ground and are currently swapping hands at $4.62, still 15.7% lower than the company's closing price of $5.48 yesterday.

Calix has plunged alongside the materials sector, which is currently the worst-performing sector in the ASX by a substantial margin.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is down 3.37%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is now fielding a 0.47% loss. The All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) is down with a 0.58% loss.

It shouldn't be surprising then that Calix is not the only materials share that's taking a beating. Sector peers such as Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) and Jervois Global Ltd (ASX: JRV) are down 3.25% and 4.42% respectively.

But why is the Calix share price falling further than its peers on Friday? One likely explanation is that it made a negative announcement to the market this morning. Let's cover what happened.

Government withdraws carbon capture technology program

Calix has been informed that the Federal Government will not proceed with its previously announced carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) hubs and technologies program.

The initiative was first revealed as part of the Federal budget on 25 October, and Calix was due to receive $11 million in funding, which has now been cancelled.

The funds were earmarked for a joint project between Calix and Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC) to develop low-emissions lime.

However, the Government is due to open a new carbon capture technologies program in 2023, and will reportedly allocate $141.1 million in grants over ten years to projects that support this effort.

Calix said it was waiting on more details from the government about this program while also pursuing alternative forms of government funding at regional and state levels.

What did management say?

Responding to the news, Calix managing director and CEO Phil Hodgson said:

Calix acknowledges our partners for their commitment to achieving carbon neutral cement and lime. We are also grateful for the Australian Government's support of carbon capture and storage technologies for cement and lime, which is an essential technology to mitigate the unavoidable production of CO2 during the cement and lime manufacturing process.

Hodgson continued:

We believe the Leilac technology can also play an important role in urgently decarbonising this essential and hard-to-abate sector of the Australian economy. We look forward to continuing to work with Australian governments and industry to help achieve Australia's emissions reduction targets.

Calix share price snapshot

The Calix share price is down 33.46% year to date. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has lost 8.64% over the same period.

The company's market capitalisation is around $1.02 billion.

The post Why did this ASX All Ordinaries share crash 18% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But most of the ASX shares exploring for and producing cobalt are on the microcap and small-cap end of the spectrum.

We look at three of the larger companies below.

But first…

What is cobalt?

A hard, shiny, greyish metal, cobalt is a highly conductive metal. It has numerous uses, including adding colour to glass and ceramics.

But we suspect its cobalt's use in aircraft engine parts and its prevalence in lithium-ion batteries, computers and mobile phones that has seen the Australian government list the metal as a critical mineral.

The government reports that Australia has high geological potential for cobalt, with a 2020 economic demonstrated resource of 1.5 million tonnes. In 2020, Australian miners produced 5,600 tonnes of cobalt, out of a total global production of 135,000 tonnes.

Only Russia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which mines some 70% of total global cobalt, produced more.

With that said, which ASX shares are digging for cobalt?

Three ASX shares cashing in on cobalt

First up we have Jervois Global Ltd (ASX: JRV).

With a market cap of $1.2 billion, it's the biggest of the ASX shares with a strong focus on cobalt.

The company is on track to start production at its Idaho Cobalt Operations, the only cobalt mine in the United States. It's also a specialty cobalt chemicals producer at Jervois Finland.

And the Jervois share price has been riding high amid booming demand for battery metals, with shares up 29% year-to-date.

Next up we have Ardea Resources Ltd (ASX: ARL), with a market cap of $206 million.

Ardea Resources' Kalgoorlie Nickel Project, located in Western Australia, is the largest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world. It's been awarded 'major project status' by the Australian government.

The company is another beneficiary of the booming demand for battery metals, helping send its share up a whopping 171% so far in 2022.

This brings us to our third ASX share focused on cobalt, the aptly named Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX: COB).

Cobalt Blue has a market cap of $253 million.

The ASX share reports that it's poised to become one of the world's largest cobalt producers on the back of its Broken Hill Cobalt Deposit, in New South Wales. According to the company website, "If Broken Hill were a country, it would rank number 5 for cobalt production".

The Cobalt Blue share price is another stellar performer this year, up 62% since the opening bell on 4 January.

You can find also find out which ASX shares are cashing in on lithium and vanadium in more of our 'Mineral Monday' series.

The post Mineral Monday: What you need to know about cobalt and which ASX shares are cashing in on it appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What a rollercoaster last week was for ASX shares. Monday and Tuesday saw the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) fall, while Wednesday and Thursday saw it in the green. On Friday, it was in the red again. But investors in the Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX: COB) share price had nothing to worry about.

Cobalt Blue shares rocketed an impressive 30.9% over the course of last week, rising from 55 cents per share to 72 cents. That puts Cobalt Blue up around 44% in 2022 so far.

So what has happened to give investors such a surge of optimism over the last week?

Cobalt Blue share price charges up

Well, it has to be said that it's not entirely clear. Cobalt Blue's Broken Hill Cobalt Project was granted 'major project status' recently.

This development means Cobalt Blue will receive government support for the project, which aims to produce "high quality, battery-ready cobalt sulphate". This sparked a surge of optimism for the Cobalt Blue share price at the time as it surged by more than 20% at one point. But that was made public on 2 March, more than a week ago.

But we could also be seeing a general rise in investor sentiment towards Cobalt Blue and other ASX cobalt shares. As my Fool colleague Mitchell reported on Friday, the price of raw cobalt itself has been surging of late.

The metal is a key ingredient inside many lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, itself a huge growth industry. As such, investors and suppliers alike have been keen to secure a piece of the market.

Cobalt Blue is one of the biggest cobalt plays on the ASX. But it is not the only cobalt company to have enjoyed some recent gains. Jervois Global Ltd (ASX: JRV) is another ASX cobalt share. Although Jervois didn't have quite the week that Cobalt Blue had, its shares are still up an impressive 44% or so over the past six months.

At the current Cobalt Blue share price, this ASX resources share has a market capitalisation of $213.6 million.

The post Why did the Cobalt Blue (ASX:COB) share price rocket 30% in a week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Cobalt is another hot commodity charging towards new record highs this week. As the price of the metallic chemical element has strengthened, so too have the share prices of ASX-listed cobalt shares.

While it may not have the same notoriety as lithium, cobalt has become a staple of lithium-ion battery chemistries. Its application helps ensure the cathodes in batteries do not overheat, extending the economical life of a typical electric vehicle (EV) battery.

Let's take a look at what is playing out in the cobalt world.

Tailwinds aplenty for commodity

Unlike some of the other commodities experiencing runaway prices, the surge in the price of cobalt has been playing out over a longer timespan.

Projections — such as those from McKinsey — suggest that one in four vehicles on the road will be electric by 2030. These expectations have fed into higher cobalt prices as manufacturers look to shore up future supply.

According to Trading Economics, the cobalt price is hovering around US$82,000 per tonne. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to a year ago. Such a substantial increase has also boosted ASX cobalt shares.

The commodity's price has been steadily climbing during the past year. However, it appeared to plateau just above US$70,000 per tonne between late December to mid-February.

Although, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions might be behind the latest uptick.

According to information published by the US Geological Survey, Russia was the second-largest producer of cobalt in 2021 with 7,600 tonnes.

In total, Russia's cobalt supply made up around 4.5% of the world's production. Though, this is dwarfed by the ~70% contributed by Congo.

What about cobalt shares on the ASX?

Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX: COB) is one ASX-listed cobalt explorer that has shuffled into the spotlight recently. The company was granted "major project status" by the Federal government last week as Australia looks to play a key role in the supply of the booming commodity.

Furthermore, Cobalt Blue's Broken Hill Cobalt Project plans to produce 16,700 tonnes per year. Based on our previously referenced figures, this would slot Australia in at number two of global cobalt producers.

Another ASX cobalt share riding the price rise is Jervois Global Ltd (ASX: JRV). The billion-dollar cobalt company has enjoyed a 28% jump in its share price since the new year ticked over.

The post Why is everyone talking about ASX cobalt shares this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Jervois Global Ltd (ASX: JRV) share price has jumped 5% into the green during Thursday's session.

Shares in the company — formerly Jervois Mining — are on the move after it made an announcement earlier today. They are now exchanging hands at 51 cents apiece, a 5.15% jump on the day.

Let's investigate further.

What did Jervois announce?

In what investors deemed a positive for the Jervois Global share price, the company announced it had completed the "US$160 million acquisition of Freeport Cobalt". It also nabbed four "affiliated entities" as a part of the transaction.

Total transaction costs came in at US$192 million when including working capital, to reflect the "higher cobalt inventory acquired".

The acquisition "aims to consolidate the transformation" of the company into a "global, vertically integrated cobalt and nickel company of scale".

In addition, the acquisition could potentially turn Jervois into the "second-largest producer of refined cobalt outside of China".

To finance the transaction, Jervois completed a month-long "accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer" on 25 August. There it raised a total of A$313 million when combined with both retail and institutional tranches of the placement.

In addition, Mercuria, "one of the largest energy and commodity traders" as per the release, invested AU$45.7 million according to the company. Australian Super also increased its investment by AU$73.9 million.

What did the company have to say?

In the announcement, Jervois Global said:

Jervois confirms it has closed its previously announced acquisition of 100% of Freeport Cobalt by purchasing all the shares of Freeport Cobalt Oy and four affiliated entities from Koboltti Chemicals Holdings Limited. Jervois has purchased an operating global leader in the cobalt industry, with an established market platform that is diversified by product and value chain segment.

Jervois Global share price snapshot

The Jervois Global share price has gained 44% this year to date, and 84% over the past 12 months.

These results have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)'s climb of around 25% over the past year.

The post Jervois Global (ASX:JRV) share price up 5% on Freeport Cobalt acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.