Cobalt is recovered from byproduct streams from a basic process by contacting the byproduct streams with aluminum metal for a sufficient period of time to produce cobalt metal as a precipitate. The basic process is the type wherein cobalt ions in solution are complexed with ammonia in the presence of halide ions to form an ammine halide solution from which a cobalt containing precipitate is separated. The precipitate is subsequently reduced to form a cobalt metal powder.