Tag Archives: Canada Cobalt Works

Canada Cobalt looks for vertical integration with PolyMet Resources deal

Base metals, Energy minerals, Environmental, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , ,

Canada Cobalt Works has widened its processing options for both its Castle and Beaver projects, in the Cobalt Camp of northern Ontario, Canada, with the acquisition of a permitted and operating mineral and precious metal processing facility.

The company has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of PolyMet Resources Inc, owner of ISO-certified PolyMet Labs and the Cobalt Camp’s only permitted and operating mineral and precious metal processing facility, it said.

The C$650,000 ($491,861) transaction, expected to be made up of cash and shares, provides the company with “multiple immediate and long-term advantages”, it said. This includes a high capacity bullion melting furnace to pour payable silver and gold doré bars. The 23,400 sq.ft (2,174 sq.m) facility has sampling and analytical capabilities and can also host the company’s proprietary Re-2OX Process for environmentally-friendly extraction of cobalt, precious and base metals, it said.

Re-2OX skips the normal smelting process to create battery-grade cobalt sulphate, according to Canada Cobalt Works, with the company earlier this year saying it planned to submit a patent application to protect the technology.

The transaction will see the lab and mineral processing facility become the new headquarters of Canada Cobalt. This facility is located in the town of Cobalt, immediately adjacent to a rail line and just a short distance from the company’s Castle mine and Beaver properties.

The company said: “This well-established sampling and analytical facility, specialising in high-grade mineralisation, provides commercial assaying, crushing, screening, grinding, bulk sampling, upgrading and smelting services all in one location, driving multiple revenue streams at a time when gold prices in Canadian dollars have hit new record highs.”

According to the company, PolyMet has demonstrated that in an eight-hour shift, it can pour up to 10 doré silver bars of 1,000 oz each (90% to 95% fine).

“PolyMet is currently making inroads into the potentially lucrative e-waste business that can be leveraged through Canada Cobalt, its extensive relationships and its Re-2OX Process,” Canada Cobalt said. “Material from mixed computer boards is being processed through the facility’s shredder and ball mill to recover precious and base metals.”

Frank Basa, President and CEO of Canada Cobalt, said: “This deal builds dramatically on Canada Cobalt’s current competitive advantages and opportunities – technological, on the ground and underground – in a rejuvenated silver-cobalt district recognised as the birthplace of Canadian hard-rock mining.

“With such a unique and fully operational facility in the town of Cobalt, so close to the Castle mine and other properties, Canada Cobalt achieves a key goal of becoming a vertically integrated leader in Canada’s silver-cobalt heartland while it also exploits a powerful new cycle in precious metals.”

Gino Chitaroni, Majority Owner of PolyMet Resources, said: “We see some really exciting synergies here. Canada Cobalt’s track record of success in this district made them the perfect fit to take the PolyMet Lab and facility to the next level while I remain involved to assist Canada Cobalt from an operational standpoint.”

He continued: “Bullion pouring, bulk sampling, commercial assaying and e-waste are PolyMet’s four key immediate profit centres that merge with Canada Cobalt, creating powerful new synergies. Hosting Re-2OX and accelerating the development of such a unique and environmentally friendly process at this facility is a major coup for the town of Cobalt and the broader district.”

Canada Cobalt Works moves to protect Re-2OX process following SGS testing

Base metals, Energy minerals, Environmental, Metallurgy, Mineral exploration, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , ,

Canada Cobalt Works says it has made important breakthroughs in its proprietary and environmentally green Re-2OX process for the recovery of cobalt, precious metals and base metals, and will look to submit a patent application to protect the technology.

New testing using SGS Lakefield in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, has highlighted further optimisation of Re-2OX can allow the recovery of silver and copper for the first time, while also increasing the recovery rates for cobalt and nickel.

“In refining the Re-2OX process through a one-step leach extraction, overseen by Canada Cobalt adviser Dr Ron Molnar, SGS has recovered >99% cobalt, >99% silver, 99% nickel and 99% copper while removing 99% of arsenic from a composite of gravity concentrates,” the company said.

The gravity concentrates tested at SGS were from the historic Castle mine, in Ontario, classified as waste material and grading 10.2% Co, 11,000 g/t Ag, 0.26% Cu, 1.49% Ni and 45.1% arsenic.

Re-2OX skips the normal smelting process to create battery-grade cobalt sulphate, according to Canada Cobalt Works. The company said nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery-grade formulations are also in the pipeline.

“In addition, the ability of Re-2OX to achieve exceptionally high recovery rates for both cobalt and silver, plus nickel and copper, while also removing 99% of arsenic, expands the potential of the Castle mine given Phase 1 underground results released February 19, 2019, and a second phase starting soon,” the company said. “Furthermore, Re-2OX is a value-driver for the company’s planned tailings programs at Castle and elsewhere in the district, and will also be used by Canada Cobalt to immediately build a new model of ‘streaming’ opportunities for the company with respect to other battery metal projects while protecting the process.”

Given the current optimisation level of Re-2OX, and the growing importance of this hydrometallurgical process to Canada Cobalt and its shareholders, the company has now initiated the process of submitting a patent application for this proprietary metal extraction method.

Frank J Basa, Canada Cobalt President and CEO, said: “The fact that SGS has demonstrated that Re-2OX can very efficiently recover a broad set of metals from arsenic-rich material, ranging from low grade to high grade, further de-risks the Castle mine project and expands opportunities to build shareholder value. Further Re-2OX optimisation will target the recovery of gold.”

Granada Gold Mine brings Gekko in for “disruptive” pre-concentration tests

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Toronto-listed Granada Gold Mine thinks pre-concentration by separation has the potential to lower capital and operating costs at its Granada gold project in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada.

The company has come to this conclusion after receiving higher grades during testwork, which, it said, “may have implications for the grade of future mill feed, the size of the gold deposit, and the costs associated with future mine production.”

The company went to Gekko Systems of Ballarat, Australia, for this testwork. Granada said of Gekko: “Their innovative pre-concentration system increases recovery values, reduces ore mass and waste, reduces water use, lowers power requirements, and improves feed rates, all potentially meaning lower capital and operating costs for Granada along with higher recovery rates.”

A 260-kg sample of low-grade drill core assaying 0.6 g/t was upgraded to 6 g/t with a 60% overall recovery by this work. The Gekko laboratory processed the sample by crushing through different size fractions, homogenised, and split according to standard lab practices, Granada said. Gravity tests were conducted on coarse and fine fractions, approximately +600 μm and -150 μm, respectively.

A grade of 21 g/t Au was achieved from the coarse size fraction, with a recovery of 40%, resulting in an upgrade ratio (concentrate/feed) of 35.

Frank Basa, Chairman and CEO of Granada Gold, said: “As a result of this preliminary work, we believe that employing disruptive technologies on lower-grade ore to pre-concentrate the mineralised material for process plant feed can be advantageous. This approach can be used to evaluate the potential to increase the gold resource and other recoverable metals which, in turn, will lower project capital and operating costs.”

In a related matter, the company has also begun a test programme using the pilot plant of its sister company, Canada Cobalt Works. In this first round of tests, a 120-kg sample of low-grade mineralised rock from the Granada gold mine waste dump was processed by screening the material into three screen sizes followed by gravity separation. These concentrates were then analysed for gold, silver, cobalt, nickel, and copper.

Gravity assay test results are pending, with a particular focus on recoverable base metals.

The current feasibility study for the on-site gold mine and plant at Granada has been put on hold pending results of the metallurgical studies. The environmental studies to install a 600 t/d gravity leach plant are, in the meantime, ongoing at the Canada Cobalt Works Castle mine. The flowsheet has been completed and equipment has been sourced, the company said.

The company is in possession of all permits required to commence the initial mining phase, known as the “Rolling Start”, which allows the company to mine up to 550 t/d, capable of producing up to 675,000 t of ore over a three-year period.