Solvent extraction is a purification technique widely used to refine, separate and purify target metals. COB has used innovative techniques (breaking away from traditional solvent extraction methods) that was developed for the proposed Kwinana Cobalt Refinery (KCR). Lower capital and operating costs and smaller equipment footprint were the driving factors to pursue COB's approach. COB has successfully produced cobalt sulphate and cobalt metal samples through these techniques.
The conference was attended by over 200 people, including industry representatives, university researchers and vendors. Black mass processing (battery recycling) was an area of particular focus at the conference with an increasing demand for such processing expected in the near future. COB is carrying out black mass processing testwork at the BHTC to integrate black mass sources into COB's process flowsheet.
