Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB, OTC:CBBHF, FRA:COH) earlier this week reported an important technical milestone for its Kwinana Cobalt Refinery project in Western Australia after confirming that cobalt sulphate samples produced using its proprietary refining process meet strict battery precursor material specifications required by a prospective Japanese customer.
Business development manager Joel Crane said the company had produced the cobalt sulphate samples at its Broken Hill Technology Centre before sending them to potential Japanese partners for testing. According to Crane, the material successfully met stringent trace metal purity and physical specifications required by battery precursor and cathode manufacturers.
Crane noted that Japanese battery producers are known for maintaining some of the toughest material specifications in the global battery supply chain. He said achieving qualification represented a significant milestone for the company and for any emerging battery raw material producer.
Key interview highlights
Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd confirmed its cobalt sulphate samples met strict Japanese battery precursor specifications.
The samples were produced at the Broken Hill Technology Centre using the company’s proprietary refining process.
Meeting the specification represents a major milestone toward a Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Kwinana Cobalt Refinery project in Western Australia.
Japanese battery manufacturers are known for having some of the most demanding trace metal purity standards globally.
The qualification forms part of a pre-FID consortium with a Japanese partner.
Cobalt Blue is supplying Australian-made cobalt sulphate to the Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant in Western Australia.
The facility is operated in collaboration with CSIRO, Curtin University and the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia.
The project supports the development of domestically produced NCM batteries.
Cobalt Blue is also collaborating with CSIRO on an R&D project to recover graphite from recycled battery materials (black mass).
The company’s proprietary refinery technology is attracting increasing industry interest.
Development remains focused on the Kwinana Cobalt Refinery, with the company funded through the end of the year.
Proactive: Welcome back to Proactive Investors. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m your host Kerry Stevenson. Joining us is Joel Crane, Business Development Manager for Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd. Joel, it’s good to see you. Some news out today. And by the way, ladies and gentlemen, the company is a leading metals processing company and Australia needs this processing capability. I really like what you’re doing. What’s the news today?
Joel Crane: Thanks for that introduction, Kerry. We released an announcement today covering a couple of key developments. Most importantly, we produced a sample of cobalt sulphate back in September and sent it to prospective Japanese clients. They recently informed us that it meets their very strict trace metal purity and physical specifications.
The Japanese tend to have some of the strictest requirements among precursor and cathode producers worldwide. Meeting this specification is a major milestone and an important step toward a final investment decision. This qualification is required as part of the pre-FID consortium we have with our Japanese partner.
Proactive: I want to understand that a little more. You said the specifications are very strict. Was there a lot of processing required to meet those standards?
Joel Crane: Yes. Every battery material product contains small amounts of trace metals, and each battery company has its own specifications. Japanese producers tend to require extremely low levels of these trace elements. We had to go through several processing steps to reduce those trace metals to the required level. After producing several batches, we finally achieved one that met the specification, so we’re very pleased.
Proactive: Is that a significant hurdle to overcome? Is this a big step forward for the company?
Joel Crane: Yes, it is. It would be for any prospective battery raw material producer. These materials must meet strict specifications so that batteries remain safe and reliable. Battery makers are very particular about the materials used in their products. Meeting those requirements is a major milestone.
Proactive: I also understand you have a couple of projects with CSIRO. Can you tell us about those?
Joel Crane: Yes. Another item in today’s announcement is that we were asked to provide cobalt sulphate produced at the Broken Hill Technology Centre to the Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant in Western Australia. This facility is a collaboration between CSIRO, Curtin University and the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia.
They are producing an NCM battery and we are providing the cobalt sulphate component. In other words, we are supplying Australian-made cobalt sulphate that will go into a cathode used to produce one of the first domestically produced batteries.
Proactive: That’s exciting. Is that the main project you’re working on with them?
Joel Crane: That’s one of them and it’s relatively straightforward because we’re supplying material we’ve already produced. There’s another project as well. CSIRO approached us a few months ago to assist with an R&D project aimed at developing a process to recover graphite from recycled battery material, known as black mass.
They supply the black mass and we work together to find ways to extract graphite from it. The goal is to enable domestically produced graphite from recycled batteries.
Proactive: One final question for our investor audience. Why should people be paying attention to ASX:COB right now?
Joel Crane: Our key advantage is our patented refinery capability. As highlighted in the announcement, both the Japanese customer qualification and the collaborations with CSIRO demonstrate that the technology is attracting significant interest. Organisations are approaching the company to work on projects beyond our main goal of developing the Kwinana Cobalt Refinery in Western Australia.
So investors should stay tuned for more announcements as further collaborations emerge.
Proactive: And the company is fully funded until the end of the year, so it’s certainly an exciting time for Cobalt Blue. Joel Crane, thanks for joining me today.
Joel Crane: Thanks, Kerry. It’s been great.
AloJapan.com