Ethical cobalt producer Cobalt Blue (ASX:COB) remains focused on its goal of becoming one of the top cobalt suppliers globally by progressing the development of its Broken Hill Cobalt Project in New South Wales.
In a letter to shareholders today (13 April), CEO Joe Kaderavek says the demonstration plant operations are continuing, systematically addressing scaling risks in the transition towards a commercial operation. This includes refining mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) into separate cobalt and nickel sulphates, aiming to produce 12,000 tonnes of MHP annually.
Kaderavek says nickel forms a minor portion of the Broken Hill Cobalt Project production, however, notes its ability to produce nickel sulphate from the plant will provide the company with ‘strong’ optionality in the future.
The company is also holding steady with its plans to produce a ‘high-quality’ cobalt sulphate through an integrated mine and refinery process in 2 locations. Cobalt Blue also intends to retain ownership of the Broken Hill Cobalt Project production chain through to the production of cobalt sulphate.
As part of the ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), Cobalt Blue examined the option to refine the cobalt MHP into cobalt sulphate at a separate location in the Kwinana district south of Perth.
The strategic rationale behind this option centres on Kwinana hosts a deep-water port and export facilities, noting cobalt sulphate is a fragile product that absorbs water if left exposed, requiring careful storage and shipping. The company says direct port access will provide a ‘meaningful’ advantage.
Kaderavek notes to shareholders, Kwinana is a major chemicals district, noting about 60% to 70% of the costs associated with converting MHP to cobalt sulphate coming from reagent and chemical costs. The company says this location provides ready access to low-cost chemicals.
The CEP adds a single, large refinery allows it to process future materials sourced from Broken Hill and other projects held by the company in the future rather than building out individual refineries at mine sites across Australia.
According to the company, a cobalt refinery of this scale is ‘globally’ significant. Cobalt Blue also notes it is planning on processing nickel in the refinery which will be sold as nickel sulphate crystals, with stage one and two production aiming to produce about 3,600 tonnes per annum.
Kaderavek outlines it will be finalising its Broken Hill Cobalt Project testwork in the coming months, and notes that the plant is available for large-scale testwork for other projects beyond the middle of the year. A focus will also remain on commercialising metals within mining waste at the project.
The company says the Broken Hill Cobalt Project remains as its core focus with a DFS currently progressing and is expected to be completed by the end of Q3 2023.
Cobalt Blue is an Australian cobalt supplier focused on producing ethical and reliable cobalt for use in batteries for the electric vehicle (EV) and renewable energy storage sectors.
The company’s core focus is the Broken Hill Cobalt Project in New South Wales which hosts a global Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 118 million tonnes @ 859 parts per million (ppm) cobalt equivalent for 81,100 tonnes of contained cobalt.
