First Cobalt Begins Testing Material for Refinery Restart, Canada

Published: November 9, 2018 |

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First Cobalt Corp. has commenced testing cobalt hydroxide material as feedstock for the First Cobalt Refinery.

“Our objective is to enter into a long-term agreement for a reliable source of ethically-mined cobalt. The cash flow potential from restarting the refinery in as little as 18 months could allow us to fund a significant amount of work to advance our flagship Iron Creek Cobalt Project in Idaho, USA while also providing a much-needed North American source of cobalt,” said Trent Mell, president and chief executive officer.

“In parallel with these tests, management has commenced discussions with third party sources of capital that would minimize or eliminate any equity dilution associated with a restart of the First Cobalt Refinery,” added Mell.

The First Cobalt Refinery is a hydrometallurgical cobalt refinery in the Canadian Cobalt Camp, approximately 500 kilometres from the US border. On October 10, the company released the results of three independent studies undertaken to estimate capital requirements, operating costs, permit renewal timelines, potential feedstock options and offtake opportunities. At a 24 tonne per day feed rate and using the current flowsheet, the capital cost of the restart is estimated at US$25.7M (including a 30 percent contingency) and a permitting review concluded that a restart is possible within 18 months of selecting a feedstock.

The company is exploring various sources of feed for the refinery, which could include cobalt concentrate from mining operations, cobalt hydroxide and recycled battery materials from North America. With some flowsheet modifications, the refinery could produce a cobalt sulphate for the lithium-ion battery market or cobalt metal for the North American aerospace industry or other industrial applications. Current market conditions indicate that pricing for cobalt sulphate is in line with cobalt metal.

The company has engaged SGS Canada, a leading firm in mineral processing, metallurgy and process design, to test cobalt hydroxide and other material using the existing flowsheet of the First Cobalt Refinery and make recommendations on changes to the flowsheet to accommodate refining of cobalt hydroxide feed. Test work includes processing cobalt hydroxide using the First Cobalt Refinery flowsheet to a finished cobalt sulphate product. The test work will also examine the steps necessary to produce cobalt metal that would be produced through electrowinning.

The company is also engaging in discussions with companies specializing in the marketing and sourcing of concentrates to secure sources of ethically produced cobalt as feedstock for the First Cobalt Refinery.

The refinery historically produced cobalt carbonate, nickel carbonate and silver precipitate which can be smelted to produce doré. In order to produce cobalt sulphate, the flowsheet would be modified to include a cobalt crystallization circuit.

A final decision on whether to put the refinery back into production has not been made at this time and any decision is contingent on the outcome of the foregoing studies and discussions, as well as the sourcing of viable feedstock.

About First Cobalt
First Cobalt a North American pure-play cobalt company whose flagship asset is the Iron Creek Cobalt Project in Idaho, USA, which has Inferred mineral resources of 26.9 million tonnes grading 0.11 percent cobalt equivalent. The company’s other assets include 50 past-producing mines in the Canadian Cobalt Camp and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials.

To stop by First Cobalt’s website, CLICK HERE

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