Since 2021, COB has invested over A$15 million in BHTC (previously referred to as the ‘Demonstration Plant’). Originally established to validate an end-to-end flowsheet for the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) – from mining through to production of cobalt sulphate and metal – the facility’s pilot and demonstration campaigns successfully generated the data underpinning BHCP feasibility studies.
Recent achievements at the Centre directly advance COB’s pathway to a Final Investment Decision on the Kwinana Cobalt Refinery (KCR) by late 2025, reinforcing the commercial readiness of the project.
Activity highlights:
- Successful 100-hour pilot campaign for cobalt solvent extraction.
- Production of cobalt sulphate meeting target specifications for Refinery partners.
- First cobalt metal production, expanding offtake flexibility for the Refinery.
- Black mass evaluation as a potential additional feedstock for KCR.
- Optimisation of kiln circuit for BHCP seeking to reduce capital costs.
- Collaborative projects with the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and the ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources.
Details on these initiatives, as well as a cobalt market update, are found in the full release.