Talga to create Swedish cobalt subsidiary

Australia-based Talga Resources has begun the process of spinning out its cobalt assets in northern Sweden into a separate corporate entity focused on battery materials.

It will create a separate subsidiary called Talga Battery Metals, which will own its four Swedish project assets — Kiskima, Ahmavuoma, Lautakoski and Aitik East.

Part of the rationale for the new company is the establishment of a purpose-built entity to develop cobalt resources for European battery manufacturers.

The most advanced project is Kiskima — one of the largest cobalt deposits in Europe. Talga is working on a Jorc-compliant mineral resource for Kiskima and is working towards completing scoping and feasibility studies, it said.

All of the projects are included in the assets Talga acquired when it bought Canadian producer Teck's mining operations in Sweden in 2012.

Cobalt is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage and Talga is seeking to capitalise on European battery market demand for locally and "responsibly" sourced cobalt. Around 60pc of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo where there are concerns about the efficacy of the supply chain.

All of the projects are suitable for low-cost surface mining and are close to smelters owned by other mining companies. One of the projects is close to the Boliden group's Aitik mine, the largest copper-gold project in Europe. Copper and gold are expected to be by-products of the new company's cobalt output.

After separating its cobalt interests, Talga will focus on developing its graphene and graphite projects aimed at meeting demand from global energy and industrial applications.