Study doubles production potential of Canada cobalt refinery
The refinery that TSX-V- and ASX-listed First Cobalt is aiming to reopen in Canada could produce more than 5 000 t/y of cobalt contained in sulphate, a debottlenecking study by Ausenco Engineering has found.
The study, which eliminates the refinery’s autoclave circuit and addresses production constraints, estimates that production could be doubled from the previous estimate of 2 000 t/y to 2 500 t/y.
The study outlined three scenarios, with First Cobalt intending to progress the restart of the refinery on the 5 000 t/y scenario, which includes additional capital to overcome limitations imposed by the facility’s liquid-solid separation equipment. Under this operating scenario, production of cobalt sulphate is limited by filtration capacity and the size of the existing building.
The study estimates that the expansion could be achieved for only $7.5-million more than previously estimated, at $37.5-million.
The refinery will use third-party cobalt hydroxide as feed material and talks are under way with global miner Glencore about supplying cobalt feedstock and refinancing the recommissioning of the facilities.
First Cobalt aims to restart the refinery within a year-and-a-half to two years.
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