We are actively evaluating two different third-party feedstock sources to produce cobalt and nickel sulphate at a pilot scale (1:50). Our tests have already achieved impressive results, with cobalt extraction recovery reaching up to 95-97%. Ongoing optimisation efforts aim to push these numbers even higher.
Our Strategy: Responding to the Global Landscape
Cobalt Blue are currently developing Australia's first Cobalt-Nickel Refinery, strategically located in the Kwinana Industrial Area, south of Perth, Western Australia. The timing for this critical project couldn't be better.
Legislation in key markets, USA and Europe, is actively encouraging new players increase critical mineral processing. This push aims to diversify the global supply chain, currently dominated by China. The combined cobalt demand in the USA and Europe for Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries alone is currently 50,000 tonnes, with nearly all of it processed in China. By 2030, this demand is projected to surge to a staggering 170,000 tonnes. Policymakers are looking to secure as much of these critical resources from allied countries as possible, including Australia.
Crucially the Australian Government is actively supporting investment in downstream processing. The Critical Minerals Strategy, coupled with the recently launched Future Made in Australia Act, provides a robust framework with new measures to empower domestic critical mineral processing.
Cobalt Blue's strategic approach positions us to be among the first wave of new entrants into the allied battery materials supply chain. We are committed to playing a leading role in securing a stable and sustainable future for critical minerals.