First Cobalt Corp. has announced interim results from ongoing testing of cobalt hydroxide material as potential feedstock for the First Cobalt refinery in Ontario.
According to the company, the preliminary test results reported today “provide further confidence that the First Cobalt refinery flowsheet is suitable to receive cobalt hydroxide feed material.”
- Ninety-eight per cent of cobalt successfully leached from cobalt hydroxide material in preliminary testing with solvent extraction processes used to further remove deleterious elements;
- Cobalt extraction tests have begun and will be followed by sulphate crystallization to produce cobalt sulphate; results expected by the end of the quarter; and
- Potential to increase plant throughput through the exclusion of the autoclave circuit.
“Today’s results give us further confidence that the First Cobalt refinery flowsheet can produce cobalt to supply the North American market,” said Trent Mell, president and CEO. “Having achieved this milestone, we are driving ahead with the next phase of testing including the production of cobalt sulphate, which we expect to have completed before the end of the quarter.”
In late 2018, SGS Canada was engaged to test cobalt hydroxide with the existing flowsheet of the First Cobalt refinery to determine whether cobalt hydroxide could be suitable feedstock for the refinery. The existing flowsheet includes an autoclave circuit and a number of solvent extraction (“SX”) processes for treating various elements, as well as product precipitation and filtration stages. The testing by SGS Canada simulates these circuits to determine the ability to process cobalt hydroxide into cobalt sulphate heptahydrate (cobalt sulphate), a critical component of lithium-ion batteries.
“The lower price of cobalt hydroxide on the market today points to increased margin potential through upgrading readily available supply of cobalt intermediates,” said Mell. “We continue to explore sources of non-equity capital to finance the recommissioning of the refinery, which could provide cash to finance future work at our flagship Iron Creek Cobalt project in Idaho.”
Initial testing successfully leached 98 per cent of cobalt from the cobalt hydroxide and further improved leach liquor quality through the removal of deleterious elements using an impurity SX step. SGS Canada will now test an additional SX process for cobalt extraction, to be followed by polishing to remove remaining impurities and then sulphate crystallization to produce cobalt sulphate.
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