Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd., Sydney, Australia, (ASX:COB) (OTCMKTS:CBBHF) (FRA:COH) is on track to start production from its Broken Hill pilot plant in Far West New South Wales, Australia, from late February following plant commissioning, Proactiveinvestors.com.au reports.
Samples produced at the plant from the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) will be sent to prospective partners and this forms part of the company’s global cobalt sample program.
Major items of equipment have arrived at the Broken Hill plant site with remaining items due early next month.
Installation of structural steelwork has started while the electrical installation is also underway with the power supply to be followed by equipment and instrumentation connections from mid-January 2021.
Production scheduled for Q1
Cobalt CEO Joe Kaderavek said: “With pilot production scheduled for the first quarter, kicking off our global cobalt sample program, in parallel with project approvals and technical studies, 2021 is shaping up to be a stellar year for Cobalt Blue.”
Cobalt Blue Holdings (COB) is committed to building a Broken Hill-based metallurgical testing centre for the BHCP, starting with a pilot plant.
Plant construction is advancing well, with key equipment in place and steelworks to be completed by Christmas.
Electrical and instrumentation works will also be finalized over the next six weeks.
The company expects production of Mixed Hydroxide Product (MHP) to begin by late February 2021, with cobalt sulphate samples shortly after.
Pilot plant next step
Following successful development of the COB process technology at laboratory scale, the next step to test the process continuity is the pilot plant.
This will allow COB to produce varying specifications of cobalt products and represents a significant milestone.
The plant is aimed at making battery-ready cobalt sulphate on a scale sufficient to provide test samples for global commercial partners.
Plant commissioning is scheduled to start in February 2021.
Demonstration plant
Data from the pilot plant will be used to define a larger demonstration plant scheduled for the second half of 2021.
A demonstration plant will include all unit operations for the proposed BHCP at nominally a 1:500 to 1:1000 scale.
This plant will focus on calcining cobalt-pyrite concentrate for the production of sulphur and an integrated hydrometallurgical circuit for leaching calcine and recovery of cobalt and sulphur.
Data will be used in the BHCP feasibility study to confirm the process recoveries of cobalt and sulphur.
As part of these activities, larger sample cobalt and sulphur products will be generated for commercial assessment.
Global partners
COB is working with 15 global partners who have expressed interest in receiving cobalt samples, with a view to qualifying COB as a supplier to the global battery industry.
To date, LG International, Mitsubishi Corporation and Sojitz Corporation have become named partners.
The battery industry is investing approximately US$200 billion with 160 global manufacturing facilities identified to date, creating an exciting time for COB.
Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) Project Update 2020
- Ore Reserve (Probable) increased 55% to 71.8 Mt at 710 ppm cobalt (from 46.3 Mt at 819 ppm cobalt).
- Ore Reserve contained cobalt increased from 38,000 tonnes to 51,000 tonnes (34% increase).
- Pre-Production capital expenditure lowered by ~A$70m, inclusive of an increase in front-end mining and concentrate throughput capacity from 5.25 Mtpa to 6.3 Mtpa (+20%).
- Capital intensity (US$ capital/cobalt production) typically 25–30% of required capital for comparable cobalt greenfield projects.
- Replacement of standalone process plant Tailings Storage Facility, with Integrated Waste Landform for co-disposal of mine waste rock and process plant tailings, resulting in lower environmental footprint.
- The Broken Hill Cobalt Project is 100% owned by Cobalt Blue Holdings. The project will continue to advance towards a Feasibility Study.
Source:batteryindustry
