While the Demonstration Plant continues to provide invaluable data for the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB, OTC:CBBHF) has embarked on another key part of its integrated cobalt supply strategy with the launch of a Refinery Development Program.
As part of this program for the planned refinery in Kwinana, Western Australia, the company is kicking off a raw materials testing program in which a broad range of cobalt-rich materials representing global cobalt supply will be sourced.
The intention is to process up to 5-tonne samples from third-party suppliers using the Demonstration Plant in Broken Hill in a trial capacity and produce cobalt sulphate on a 1:50 scale basis.
Allied Supply Chain alignment
An important outcome for this strategy is to strategically align the refinery business with the Allied Supply Chain created by the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and EU Critical Raw Minerals Act (CRMA).
As such, Cobalt Blue is aiming to be one of the first critical minerals projects to deliver directly into the Allied Supply Chain.
Cobalt Blue’s chief executive officer Joe Kaderavek said: "We are excited to announce a refinery development program, preparing us to refine third-party material supporting future refinery operations and our focus upon the rapidly evolving Allied Nation Supply Chain.”
He also commented on the DFS progress for the BHCP: “COB is finalising BHCP technical studies in parallel with successful operation of our large-scale Demonstration Plant.”
DFS progress
COB is managing the delivery of the BHCP DFS with three engineering firms contracted to provide design and costings:
- Worley is completing process plant design and review of the COB test work program, which includes the Demonstration Plant.
- GHD is designing the non-process plant infrastructure and tailings/mine waste management (co-disposal in integrated waste landforms) was well as preparing the EIS and associated permit applications.
- SRK is preparing the resource and reserve statements, based on the resource block model and mining studies.
Demonstration Plant operations
COB is continuing successful operations at the Broken Hill Demonstration Plant and has completed targeted continuous runs, providing engineering data for the DFS and production of MHP for supporting studies including thickening, filtration, materials handling, bagging and downstream refining into cobalt sulphate.
MHP in tanks at the Demonstration Plant in Broken Hill.
Samples produced continue to be evaluated internationally as part of the company’s partner program.
The plant will continue to be operated through 2023 and into 2024, beyond delivery of the DFS, in order to provide further evaluation of equipment performance – assisting with equipment selection and materials of construction durability/suitability.
This work also includes optimisation strategies:
- Developing improved procedures that can be translated to the commercial plant.
- Producing samples of solids and liquids for supporting studies – eg filtration equipment selection at vendor laboratories.
- Generating stack emissions data – eg scrubber off gas characterisation.
- Flowsheet optimisation – eg impact of operating temperatures on water evaporation/balance.
The continued operations also allow for third-party due diligence studies for project financing and ultimately training future operators and developing documentation for commissioning of the commercial plant.
In the longer term, the company plans to transform the Demonstration Plant into a Metallurgical Testing Centre for new COB projects.
Sulphur production
COB's operating philosophy for the Demonstration Plant is to treat packages of feed through the circuits. Typically, the targets are 30-tonne packages of feed through the calcine circuit and 10-tonne packages of feed through the leach circuit.
These quantities represent around 100 hours of continuous operation for respective circuits, excluding ramp-up and shutdown periods. Each ‘package’ then allows COB to evaluate specific operating parameters or equipment arrangements.
The recent installation of a sulphur collection tank in the kiln system supports unrestricted calcine operations, allowing extended steady-state operations.
In conjunction with the successful commissioning and operations of the inline dust filter, the kiln has delivered a number of operating campaigns of >100 hours without issue.
These operations have resulted in the production of tonnes of clean sulphur product and a number of packages of high-quality magnetic concentrate feedstock for the leach circuit. Tighter control of product quality from the calcine circuit has resulted in smoother and stable operations of the leach circuit.
Leach circuit delivers
The leach circuit has now delivered multiple 10-tonne package operating campaigns, each with >100 hours of steady state runtime and the high-quality feed produced from the calcine circuit has eliminated process upsets in the leach circuit, enabling reliable operations of the process required to bring cobalt into solution at the requisite levels for production of MHP.
In conjunction with recent improvements in process control methodologies and overall circuit balance, the Demonstration Plant has transitioned from short campaigns for troubleshooting plant and process to being a reliable platform to demonstrate the repeatability and robustness of our proprietary processing technology.
Operations in recent weeks have delivered multiple MHP packages, ranging from smaller samples for analysis and assessment to larger samples for use in engineering studies needed to evaluate and specify equipment for the BHCP processing facility.
Refinery Development Program
COB is engaging with a potential partner for the refinery. This potential partner is a leading Japanese multinational company that specialises in the production and trading of commodities.
That company has a global presence with subsidiaries and affiliates in several countries and has established partnerships and collaborations with companies worldwide to further advance their expertise in technologies and explore new markets.
This potential partner has a large trading arm looking to supply their Japanese partners in major global Electric Vehicle markets, including the United States.
Cobalt Blue Cobalt Refinery – estimated schedule.
COB is preparing an engineering cost estimate for the planned cobalt sulphate refinery. This will be used to assess the economic merits of building and operating a plant to process a minimum of 3,000 tonnes per annum cobalt (target), with expansion to 7,500 tonnes cobalt/nickel when BHCP feedstock is available.
In addition, comes the raw materials testing program using third-party samples, which would typically be cobalt hydroxide or cobalt-nickel hydroxide or other intermediates from existing operations. Each sample would take 4–6 weeks to be tested.
Use of Broken Hill plant
For this, the cobalt sulphate refinery equipment in the Broken Hill Demonstration Plant will be upscaled to a nominal production rate of 200 kilograms/day cobalt/nickel equivalent.
This represents a 1:50 scale compared to the initial annual refinery throughput of 3,000 tonnes of cobalt.
COB is looking to source a broad range of cobalt-rich materials representing the global industry that currently complies with Allied Nation supply chain requirements.
There are a number of technological and strategic benefits to testing bulk raw materials that will significantly de-risk the project including:
- Evaluate suitability of processing third-party feedstocks and provide basis for negotiation of supply contracts.
- Identify and characterise waste generated by the refinery and thereby define appropriate waste management strategies.
- Improve operating procedures and philosophies, which lead to better plant design and lower risk commissioning and operations of the full-scale refinery.
- Confirm capabilities to produce high purity cobalt sulphate suitable for sales to cathode precursor manufacturers, from a range of feed stocks.
Cobalt Blue Sulphate Refinery and NCM Precursor strategies.
Permitting progress
For the proposed Kwinana refinery, COB has started discussions with the Western Australian Government regulator on the permitting pathway.
A program of studies is being costed to cover emissions, waste, water, power, traffic, logistics, noise and hazardous materials.
Refinery development will allow COB to collaborate globally in the selection of cobalt/nickel feedstock and assess which cobalt miners will become suitable long-term partners targeting premium markets.
Producing saleable cobalt sulphate by late 2025 will allow COB to qualify refinery production for the global battery supply chain in advance of BHCP first operations.
For COB, successful validation of cobalt sulphate from the refinery will de-risk the BHCP investment whilst reducing working capital needs.
Estimated development schedule.
HR appointment
Emma Jenkins joined COB during July 2023 as an HR executive – People and Culture. She is a strategically focused HR professional with 15 years of experience in a variety of industries, including mining and manufacturing.
Jenkins is skilled in a wide variety of generalist functions and has specialist expertise in the areas of employee and industrial relations, talent acquisition and organisational development.
Beyond managing Human Resource functions in Cobalt Blue’s corporate and operational locations, Jenkins will also be working on future HR requirements in Broken Hill and the cobalt refinery in Kwinana.