![ELECTRIC JOLT FOR GHOST TOWN](https://cisp.cachefly.net/assets/articles/images/resized/0000690161_resized_enpiccobaltbloomberg11171022.jpg)
Global demand for cobalt, a component in batteries used to power electric cars for automakers from Tesla to Volkswagen, is changing the importance of the metal. Pictured above is a town sign displayed in downtown Cobalt, Ontario, Canada. The town, and the metal after which it is named, are attracting renewed attention as a buffer to rising political risks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bloomberg reports.