Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB, OTC:CBBHF) is making progress in creating a circular economy in Australia by transforming material previously regarded as waste to valuable critical minerals used in the global switch to green energy including electric vehicles.
The company is currently focusing on advancing plans for the Kwinana Cobalt Refinery (KCR) in Western Australia ahead of a financing decision next year and identifying new sources of potential feedstock, including successful testing programs.
The latter includes potential use of treating black mass, a mix of crushed metals produced in battery recycling from shredded battery scrap, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ecobatt, Australia’s pre-eminent battery recycling company.
KCR progress
For the KCR, an engineering program is nearing completion with Cobalt Blue and Iwatani progressing programs toward a financing decision in 2025. These include test-work and engineering studies, permit applications, and contracts for feed and offtake.
On the engineering side, Tetratech has continued with the detailed design study. The refinery's integration within the Iwatani Australia-owned Doral Fused Materials (DFM) site has driven the design of plant layout, traffic management, power supply and surface water management.
The design case is nearing completion in preparation for a project financing decision in 2025.
Kwinana Cobalt Refinery plant layout.
Permitting
Test-work and engineering studies have supported the preparation of the two permit applications. A Works Approval was submitted by DFM (on behalf of Cobalt Blue) in November 2024 to the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.
This included details of the proposed refinery including waste and emission management, feed and product logistics (via Fremantle container port), and consumption of water, reagents and power. This application is a request to modify the existing DFM Works Approval.
As Cobalt Blue requires government financial support to construct the refinery, it is progressing through pre-screening processes with government funding agencies to garner support to enable timely recommendations from them and prompt political decisions from State and Federal governments.
Feedstock work
As feedstock for the KCR and a component of the company’s ReMine+ strategy, COB has this year completed successful test-work on two key sources of feedstock and recently, several new sources have been identified.
Cobalt separation using a system of ion-exchange columns at the Broken Hill Technology Development Centre.
Test-work has been undertaken at the company’s Broken Hill Technology Development Centre focused on leaching key sources of potential feedstock, including cobalt hydroxide (international source) and cobalt-nickel sulphide precipitate (from within Australia). These were purchased on commercial terms.
The company has recently expanded its testing to other sources of feedstock, including:
- Cobalt hydroxide from another major global supplier (name withheld for commercial in confidence);
- Black mass from Ecobatt, an Australian battery recycler; and
- A cobalt intermediate from battery recycling in India (name withheld for commercial in confidence).
Each of these programs has demonstrated cobalt extractions of greater than 95% from the head samples.
Following leaching, the test-work has covered separation of cobalt using precipitation, ion-exchange, solvent extraction and crystallisation techniques.
Final product cobalt sulphate in the crystaliser.
COB is aiming to produce cobalt sulphate heptahydrate to confirm with stringent Japanese market specifications.
The most recent testing has achieved purification of the cobalt sulphate, removing zinc, copper, iron, manganese, nickel and magnesium to target levels.
This work continues with the aim of generating a representative sample for evaluation by prospective offtakers.
Ecobatt MOU
A key recent step is the MOU with Ecocycle Pty Ltd, parent of Ecobatt, to evaluate the feasibility of treating black mass from battery recycling within Australia. The MOU will remain in force until December 31, 2025.
This is in line with Australia’s increasing emphasis on creating a circular economy which can recover critical minerals from materials such as spent recycled batteries, minimises the necessity for new mining projects and keeps these valuable resources here in Australia for re-use and out of landfills.
According to the Battery Stewardship Council, up to 400 million batteries may be in use in Australia but less than 5% are recycled (not including Lead Acid Batteries).
Many of the used lithium-ion batteries find their way in kerbside bins to landfills and the risks from fire and damage to recycling facilities around Australia is a daily problem, as they are for companies and the community storing them at home or in factories.
Ecobatt manages a national collection system to recycle and process battery products, based on proven world-class battery recycling technology.
Black mass testing
Cobalt Blue has successfully tested samples of black mass provided by Ecobatt to extract cobalt, nickel and manganese.
The test-work program is expanding to cover production of suitable forms of separate cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium chemicals for onward sale for lithium-ion battery cathode manufacturing.
Both companies will continue to collaborate to explore and evaluate opportunities around processing black mass into critical minerals to re-enter the battery supply chain.
This partnership is built on the expectation that the result of the complementary functions will contribute to the growth of Australia’s battery recycling ecosystem.
Entitlement issue extended
Cobalt Blue has extended the closing date for its pro-rata non-renounceable rights issue offer of 1 new share for every five shares held by eligible shareholders at an issue price of $0.072 per new share.
The closing date has been extended to Friday, January 17, 2025, to allow extra time for eligible shareholders to take up their entitlements.
The entitlement issue includes a shortfall facility under which eligible shareholders that have taken up their full entitlement can apply to take up additional new shares in excess of their pro rata entitlement.
Applications under this top-up facility will only be considered to the extent there is a shortfall under the entitlement issue. Directors reserve the right to place any shortfall shares at their discretion within three months of the closing date at a price not less than the offer price.
COB intends to use the proceeds together with existing cash resources to fund the following:
- Kwinana Cobalt Refinery (KCR) work programs – including the KCR engineering program (delivered by Tetra Tech (NASDAQ:TTEK)), permitting/approvals, financing, offtake/feedstock programs as well as legal support work;
- Broken Hill Cobalt Project strategic review studies;
- ReMine+ opportunities, including desktop studies and/or test work at the Broken Hill Technology Development Centre; and
- General corporate activities.