Neometals advances battery recycling strategy

Perth-based metals developer Neometals is a step closer to proving the technical and economic viability of its proprietary process to recover metals from recycled lithium-ion batteries.

A completed scoping study has indicated that cobalt, nickel, copper and lithium can be recovered as high-purity sulphate products with an estimated operating cost of $15/kg of contained cobalt sulphate before by-product credits, the company said, adding that it has patents pending in Australia and Europe.

Pilot test work is being carried out in Canada and will be followed up by an engineering study and a feasibility study.

The scoping study supports the company's strategy to target the growing need for sustainable recycling solutions as global adoption of lithium-ion batteries grows for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage, Neometals said.

The company, which recently sold its stake in the Mt Marion lithium mine in Western Australia, is considering the establishment of a recycling plant at Kwinana, south of Perth, to process around 50 t/day or 18,263 t/yr of feedstock material. This is aimed at producing 9,623 t/yr of cobalt sulphate, 5,635 t/yr of copper sulphate, 1,544 t/yr of lithium sulphate and 2,020 t/yr of nickel sulphate.

The capital cost of the facility is estimated at $66mn with a pre-tax net present value of $220mn and a payback period of two years.

Neometals has designed a recycling process with the flexibility to handle lithium-cobalt-oxide batteries and nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries.

It said progress is being made at the pilot project in Canada from which data will be extracted to construct a commercial scale plan.

"Neometals has invested in a true recycling solution rather than a base metals recovery process. It has been engineered for real-world conditions and recovers multiple high-purity chemicals from an array of battery chemistries," managing director Chris Reed said.

"We look forward to completing pilot testing in Canada so as to prove the technical feasibility and economic viability. In parallel, we will be accelerating our discussions with relevant major players in the global lithium-ion battery supply chain."

Reed expects there to be "a massive increase" in the volumes of scrap and end of life batteries from consumer electronics and EVs along with the growing need for ethical and sustainable supply chains.

Neometals will begin an engineering study on its recycling plant in July and expects this study and a broader feasibility study to be completed in the first quarter of 2020. Construction of the plant is expected to take around 12 months, meaning that it could be operational in 2021 if all approvals and financing arrangements are successful.