VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – ASX- and TSX-V-listed First Cobalt has launched a metallurgical study on the high-grade inventory of refinery residue and crushed waste rock material located near the company’s mill facility, located in the Canadian Cobalt Camp, in Ontario.
First Cobalt has partnered with Dundee Sustainable Technologies, in Quebec, to advance its early cash flow prospects by assessing an optimal flow sheet for recovering cobalt and silver, as well as arsenic removal and stabilisation.
The programme will provide further insights into opportunities for early cash flow from processing surface muckpiles from historic underground mining operations. The study will focus on testing three piles with a historic resource estimate totalling about 6 500 t, with average grades ranging from 0.65% to 1.55% cobalt.
First Cobalt noted that metallurgical testwork is aimed at developing a process flow sheet based on analytical characterisation of the samples, gravity concentration, hydrometallurgical recovery of cobalt and silver, as well as arsenic removal and stabilisation.
The Toronto-based company said that, should the programme prove successful, it could have broader implications for the ongoing assessment of processing options for historical mine material throughout the Cobalt Camp using its mill and refinery.
"The results of this programme will improve our understanding of processing options for materials from the Cobalt Camp. While we continue to advance our exploration strategy, another key strategic objective is to seize upon the opportunity to generate early cash flow from material left on surface from historic mining operations. This study is an important step towards our goal of producing cobalt battery materials in North America,” president and CEO Trent Mell said in a statement.