Cobalt Blue Holdings (COB) has executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the state of Queensland to assess opportunities for the recovery of cobalt from mine waste.
Under the MOU, COB will undertake test work to evaluate mineral processing options, including the application of its proprietary minerals processing technology to recover target metals from feedstocks nominated and provided by the Department of Resources.
The MOU forms part of the secondary prospectivity project under the New Economy Minerals Initiative (NEMI).
In November 2019, the Queensland Government announced the NEMI to advance the discovery and development of new economy minerals within Queensland.
The $13 million initiative considered a number of targeted projects including the secondary prospectivity project that would examine the potential of mine waste, including tailings, stockpiles and waste dumps for critical minerals.
The initiative was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the Sustainable Minerals Institute from the University of Queensland.
“The MOU with the Queensland Department of Resources is an important step forward for COB’s waste streams project and for Queensland’s ‘the New Economy Minerals Initiative’,” Cobalt Blue Holdings chief executive officer and executive director Joe Kaderavek said.
“COB looks forward to working with the Department of Resources and the University of Queensland on this important initiative.”
If critical minerals are identified, sites could be re-packaged and offered back to the market with incentives or collaborative arrangements to address any legacy environmental issues.
There is no guarantee that COB’s test work will be successful or that the company will be able to commercialise this opportunity.
Initial samples for test work are expected to be received in the first quarter of 2022.