Switzerland-based commodity trader Open Mineral has partnered with Toronto-headquartered nickel and cobalt miner and refiner Sherritt to jointly develop a business case for the hydrometallurgical treatment of complex precious metal concentrates.

Sherritt chief commercial officer Greg Honing says Open Mineral’s market expertise and data will be combined with Sherritt’s technical and operational expertise in hydrometallurgical processes to tackle the challenge of arsenic pollution within the precious metals concentrate market.

Founded in 2016 by a team of ex-Glencore traders based in Baar, the Open Mineral platform has onboarded over 900 metals and mining companies from 40 countries. Open Mineral is fed by millions of unique data points.

“We realise the importance of partnerships and collaboration amongst industry leaders to increase the probability of success and more importantly increase the positive impact of ESG and other related improvements,” he comments.

The proliferation of technologies able to treat this fast-growing market has centred around China and various other outlets which have sought to supplement their integrated feeds (or technologies) with third-party concentrates. In late 2021, China introduced new legislation on the import thresholds of deleterious elements for precious metal concentrates, such as arsenic, triggering wide-reaching impacts on global concentrate flows and the economics of a large pool of current and future mining projects.

"Currently, the global trade in arsenic and other impurities results in multi-level impacts across human, environmental, and industrial systems by contaminating air and water cycles. Sherritt has a long history of building hydrometallurgical plants and best-in-class technologies; combining Sherritt's industry knowledge with Open Mineral data and our commitment to ESG initiatives gives this project a unique chance to price, optimize and potentially solve a major pollution problem,” says Open Mineral head of mining solutions Benjamin Cox.