Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited (ASX:COB) has taken a major step in its efforts to develop the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) with the lodging of Conceptual Project Development Plan (CPDP) with the NSW Government.
Cobalt Blue’s Chief Executive Officer, Joe Kaderavek, said the CPDP is provided to demonstrate that a project is a responsible and sustainable mining proposal that can develop the mineral resources of NSW in a sound manner.
The CPDP presentation included detailed information on:
* COB and the Broken Hill Cobalt Project a Deposit geology
* Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve
* Mining methods and optimisation
* Geotechnical stability
* Mineral processing flowsheet a Project economics
* Environmental issues
* Stakeholder consultation
* Assessment timeframes
The BHCP will now proceed with an application for State Significant Development approval under the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979) and the submission of a project Scoping Report, which is scheduled for January 2020.
“COB is excited that the Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment has received the Conceptual Project Development Plan for the Broken Hill Cobalt Project. COB will now commence the formal application process for State Significant Development approval,” Mr Kaderavek said.
“After the release of the Pre-Feasibility Study for the Broken Hill Cobalt Project in July 2018, COB has further progressed the Project and engaged with agencies of the New South Wales Government and the broader Broken Hill community to ensure that the Project addresses the strict environmental, social and economic requirements for State Significant mining projects in New South Wales.”
COB has previously announced it will build a metallurgical testing centre in Broken Hill. This will include a Demonstration Plant for testing COB minerals processing technology to produce cobalt sulphate from pyrite samples sourced from the Broken Hill Cobalt Project.
Commissioning of the plant is targeted for mid 2020, followed by processing up to 4,000 tonnes of sample.
This facility will support (a) the Feasibility Study for the Broken Hill Cobalt Project, and (b) the evaluation of applying the technology to other projects under the COB Partnerships framework.
Cobalt’s popularity is on the rise for its potential use in modern batteries powering electric vehicles.
