Tag Archives: Re-2OX

Canada Silver Cobalt Works enlists SGS Canada for Re-2OX pilot plant build

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Canada Silver Cobalt Works has signed an agreement with SGS Canada Inc to proceed with its Re-2OX pilot plant in Ontario, Canada.

This critical step will allow the company to, it says, accelerate the production of client-specific battery metals for the North American electric vehicle (EV) market, one of its key strategies.

In 2018, SGS Lakefield used the environmentally friendly Re-2OX process to recover 99% of the cobalt and 81% of the nickel from a composite of gravity concentrates while also removing 99% of the arsenic, a long-time issue in this cobalt-rich Cobalt Camp. The gravity concentrates graded 9.25% Co, 5.65% Ni, 49.9% As and 9,250 g/t Ag.

The Re-2OX process, which skips the normal smelting process to create battery-grade cobalt sulphate, was used at SGS to produce a technical-grade cobalt sulphate hexahydrate at 22.6%, directly from cobalt-rich gravity concentrates produced from the first level of Canada Silver Cobalt Works’ Castle mine in the Cobalt Camp. The 22.6% cobalt sulphate compound exceeded the specifications required by battery manufacturers at that time, the company said.

The latest plan calls for SGS to design and build the Stage 1 pilot plant at Lakefield, Ontario. Feed material for this test work will come from the underground at the Castle mine, the high-grade silver discovery Robinson Zone, Beaver and Castle tailings, recycled batteries, and from newly acquired properties.

Management sees the Re-2OX pilot plant as a long-term strategic advantage that will facilitate the production of battery metals for the EV market for many years.

“More importantly, production can be certified as ethically sourced within stringent Canadian environmental standards and traceable verification of a closed-loop supply chain that will ensure this product is highly sought after and could even possibly garner a premium due to source verification,” the company said. “The cobalt ore will come from the Cobalt region including from the Castle property currently being aggressively drilled for high-grade silver and battery metals.”

The company has retained the services of ONSite Labs as an independent contract operator of the Temiskaming Testing Laboratories facility Canada Silver Cobalt Works acquired last year. ONSite is a commercial analytical lab operator.

Over the next four months, ONSite Labs will process samples to prove the ability to produce viable data with the highest standards of quality control, the company said, adding that the lab could be fully operational and open for business by the summer of 2021.

The Castle property is 15 km east of Pan American Silver’s Juby gold deposit, 30 km due south of Alamos Gold’s Young-Davidson mine, 75 km southwest of Kirkland Lake Gold’s Macassa Complex, and 100 km southeast of new gold discoveries in the Timmins West area.

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

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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.”