Our Strategy
Our ‘mine to battery markets’ strategy aims to provide a reliable supply of responsibly-sourced cobalt and other minerals essential to battery chemistry.
Together for a cleaner future
One of the most profound societal transformations is underway. Effective energy storage is enabling entire buildings, city blocks, and vast sections of the world’s population to change from being energy consumers to energy prosumers. And what’s powering this transformation? Energy storage devices – also known as batteries.
Look after the people
And the people will look after us.
We aim to develop and retain a residential workforce as part of our commitment to Broken Hill.
To achieve this, we are thinking in advance about legacy projects that will assist in attracting and retaining a population of workers and their families.
Already we have started working with other mining companies and local community leaders on strategic projects involving housing, childcare, and other liveability solutions.
We are also collaborating to develop pathways towards higher education, skills, and training to enable today’s youth to be job-ready tomorrow.
We look forward to further developing respectful relationships with local Aboriginal people – the Barkandji – to work in consultation, foster economic enhancement opportunities, and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.
Our workforce is our greatest asset. Therefore, we believe empowering our employees and supporting the communities where they live and work is a critical part of our operation.
As our business enjoys success, so will everyone connected to us: our staff, suppliers, their families, and community.
Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework
This is the third annual sustainability report that demonstrates how Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited is meeting the requirements of the Cobalt Institute Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF) and management tool for its Broken Hill Cobalt Project (‘BHCP’ or the ‘Project’), and emerging opportunities to source cobalt units from waste streams including historical mine tailings and battery
recycling.
Cobalt Blue has prepared and committed to a number of policies and procedures which have a high degree of consistency with the various CIRAF risk categories. We look forward to progressively developing our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials as the Broken Hill Cobalt Project and other COB initiatives progress.
Passing the acid test
Most metallic mines around the world consume large amounts of sulphuric acid as a necessary part of their process. Most, but not ours.
A comparable nickel laterite mine, for example, would consume over 1 million tonnes of sulphuric acid. Once spent, the residue of this acid would be released into tailings or a waste facility.
The Broken Hill Cobalt Project will consume less than 1% of that amount of acid, which would be entirely consumed in the process, with zero residue.
Energy Prosumers vs. Energy Consumers
The rise of energy prosumers is having a transformative impact on the energy market, and they are indicating that energy consumption is now a 2-way street.
With the emergence of batteries and smarter technologies, consumers can now make more informed choices about energy usage and become energy producers and storers themselves. Known as ‘prosumers’, they produce a 2-way directional flow of power, feeding energy back into the grid.
Assisted by the growth in solar photovoltaic panels, smart meters, vehicle-to-grid electric vehicles, home batteries, and other ‘smart’ devices, prosumers can re-evaluate their energy practices and contribute to a greener world.
An ethical model for the world
Sadly, the Broken Hill Cobalt Project is unique. Sadly, because as our dependence on digital and electronic products grows, so does our demand for unethical cobalt.
However, as our world inevitably switches to renewable energy, we also want it to switch to ethical cobalt in batteries.
The Broken Hill Cobalt Project is proving it can be done. Broken Hill, a mining city of fewer than 20,000 people in remote and regional Australia, is indicating to the entire world the model of how it might be done.