Development of the first significant cobalt producing mine in the US is 37pc complete with initial mining expected in the second quarter of 2022 as part of a vertically integrated cobalt supply chain.
Around $127mn has been invested in the Idaho Cobalt Operation (ICO) with a further $91mn investment scheduled to get the mine in the state of Idaho into production, Australian resources firm Jervois Mining said in an update.
The mine is based on a high grade cobalt-copper-gold deposit expected to produce 1,090 t/day of ore over an initial period of seven years. After copper and gold credits, the operating cost is estimated at $7.45/lb of payable cobalt.
In conjunction with the mine's development, a bankable feasibility study is underway on restarting the Sao Miguel Paulista cobalt and nickel refinery in Brazil with commissioning possibly in the third quarter of 2022. Operations were suspended in 2016.
Intermediate cobalt product from ICO will be refined and processed at the Brazilian refinery before it is sold to key markets, mainly in the US. The first stage of the refinery restart will produce mixed hydroxide and cobalt hydroxide. It has the capacity to produce around 2,000 t/yr of cobalt metal and 25,000 t/yr of nickel metal through leaching, solvent extraction and electrowinning processes.
The US has adopted policies to improve its supply chain of critical minerals such as cobalt, which is currently dominated by countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and China.
London Metal Exchange cobalt for three-month delivery traded at $44,505/t on 18 June, up from $33,000/t at the beginning of this year.
