First Cobalt refinery expansion study weeks from conclusion
The feasibility study for an expansion of the Glencore-backed First Cobalt refinery, in Ontario, Canada, is in the final stages and will be concluded in the coming weeks.
Commenting on the current market developments, First Cobalt president and CEO Trent Mell said on Tuesday while the uncertainty owing to Covid-19 had put downward pressure on commodities, First Cobalt had implemented modified work practices that had minimal impact on its schedule.
First Cobalt plans to initially recommission the refinery in partnership with Glencore in the fourth quarter and then expand production as early as the second half of 2021.
A scoping study released in May last year determined that the refinery, which was shut in 2015, could produce at an expanded rate of more than 25 000 t/y of battery-grade cobalt sulphate for the electric vehicle (EV) industry.
The initial restart will only produce 2 000 t/y to 2 500 t/y.
“The EV revolution is a generational megatrend that will continue to change the way we move around, regardless of short term market fluctuations. Cobalt remains essential to an electric future and our partnership with Glencore will be a competitive advantage as we move towards first production,” said Mell.
First Cobalt also assured stakeholders that it was well-capitalised with sufficient cash-on-hand to execute its objectives. It has enough cash to cover its operations for the next 12 months and has additional dedicated funds to advance work at the refinery.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation