Battery metals company Jervois has increased the capital expenditure (capex) estimate for its Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO), but the US project’s schedule remains substantially unchanged.
In July, Jervois approved $92.6-million capital for construction of the mine and process facility with a first ore commissioning date of July 2022. Based on current pricing from the market for labour and materials, inflationary pressure has resulted in an updated capital estimate of $99.1-million.
First ore through the mill is now planned for August, but the date for sustainable ore production remains unchanged, during December 2022.
Jervois said ICO had completed recruiting for substantially all key management positions, including finance manager, mill manager and mine manager in advance of full operations.
The project was partially constructed when Jervois acquired it in July 2019, with more than $120-million invested by the previous owners since the discovery of the cobalt deposit.
The operation would comprise of a 1 200 t/d mill and concentrator to produce separated cobalt and copper concentrates. Gold mineralisation in the reserve at ICO will be reported to the cobalt concentrate, and will be recovered at the São Miguel Paulista refinery, in Brazil, subject to Jervois completing the acquisition and restart of the refinery in stages during 2022 and 2023.