Cobalt Blue's Broken Hill Project Gets Major Project Status Extension

Cobalt Blue Holdings' (ASX:COB) Broken Hill cobalt project has received a further three years of major project status.

The extension of major project status for Broken Hill follows the project's initial designation originally granted in March 2022, and supports the continued development of this key asset in remote western New South Wales.

The project spans approximately 37 square kilometres.

“While cobalt is typically recovered as a by-product of copper or nickel, the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) will be a primary cobalt operation with elemental sulphur as a byproduct,” Cobalt Blue notes on its website.

The project hosts a global mineral resource estimate comprising 126.5 million tonnes at 867 parts per million (ppm) cobalt equivalent (690 ppm cobalt, 7.5 percent sulphur and 134 ppm nickel) for 87,000 tonnes of contained cobalt, 9,510 kilotonnes of sulphur and 17,000 nickel (at a 275 ppm copper equivalent cut off).

According to CEO Andrew Tong, the major project status acknowledges the strategic significance of the project in the delivery Australia’s Future Made in Australia agenda, Critical Minerals Strategy and National Battery Strategy.

“Obtaining a three year extension to Major Project Status for the Broken Hill cobalt project is an important enabler for our project development plans,” he said in a July 3 press release.

“This also creates an opportunity for locally-sourced feedstock to support the growth of new Australian downstream industries – an ambition we are actively pursuing through our Kwinana Cobalt Refinery and Broken Hill Technology Centre.”

The Kwinana cobalt refinery is planned by Cobalt Blue to be Australia’s first cobalt sulphate refinery that will produce high-quality, battery-grade cobalt sulphate for the global lithium-Ion battery Industry.

Cobalt Blue said that the project’s recognition also strengthens its project partnership with Iwatani.

“(We welcome) this support … and it reinforces our decision to invest in Australia. The recognition of the Broken Hill cobalt project further strengthens the case for progressing the Kwinana Cobalt Refinery toward a final investment decision,” Iwatani commented.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.