Thackaringa project declares cobalt reserve

Australian cobalt developer Cobalt Blue estimates that its Thackaringa project in New South Wales can produce 32,453t of cobalt over an initial mine life of 9.3 years.

This is based on a maiden ore reserve of 46.3mn t grading 819 parts per million cobalt and a pre-feasibility study supporting the case for an operation processing 5.2mn t/yr of ore, the company said.

Following ramp-up, the project is expected to produce 3,657 t/yr over the first seven years. Capital expenditure is estimated at A$550mn ($401mn) with cash costs expected to average $11.90/lb over the life of the mine.

"The pre-feasibility study demonstrates the potential for the company to become a leading global supplier of cobalt sulphate to the lithium-ion battery industry," Cobalt Blue chairman Rob Biancardi said.

Further resource and reserve development work will target increasing the mine life to 20 years, accessing inferred resources that have not yet been fully analysed.

A bankable feasibility study will now be undertaken to optimise tailings handling and storage, optimisation of metallurgical recoveries, optimisation of power pricing and assessing opportunities to extend the project's mine life.