Australian mining company Cobalt Blue has signed a pre-final investment decision (pre-FID) consortium deed with Iwatani Australia (IWA) to move the Kwinana Cobalt Refinery (KCR) project in Western Australia (WA) towards FID by 31 December 2025.
This collaboration is expected to culminate in Australia’s first cobalt sulphate refinery designed to produce high-quality, battery-grade cobalt sulphate, which is essential for the precursor cathode active material (pCAM) industry.
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Under the terms of the deed, Cobalt Blue must produce cobalt samples at its Broken Hill Technology Centre that meet customer quality specifications using commercial-scale processes.
The Broken Hill Technology Centre has been piloting the KCR flowsheet since early 2024, with Tetra Tech appointed for detailed engineering works in July 2024 and Green Values handling permit applications later that year.
The companies plan to establish an incorporated joint venture (JV), with Cobalt Blue holding a 70% ownership stake and IWA holding a 30% stake, subject to positive FID.
The JV will be responsible for the construction, commissioning and operation of the KCR.
Furthermore, the companies will finalise key agreements covering JV structure and operational plans, raw materials (feedstock) supply and product offtake, and licensing of intellectual property.
Technical reviews, financing and regulatory approvals will also be obtained under the deed.
The proposed refinery will be situated on IWA’s property within the Kwinana-Rockingham industrial precinct, leveraging the existing infrastructure of IWA’s fused zirconia operation.
Its proximity to Fremantle port facilitates the import of third-party feedstock and the export of finished products.
In its initial phase (stage one), the refinery is expected to have a production capacity of 3,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of cobalt, either in the form of cobalt sulphate or metal.
Since December 2023, Cobalt Blue and IWA have been working closely on technical due diligence, project evaluation and the establishment of commercial partnerships.
Cobalt Blue, soon to be renamed Core Blue Minerals, continues to focus on its global portfolio of mining and mineral processing projects including the Halls Creek Project in WA, the Broken Hill Cobalt Project in New South Wales and ReMine+.
In September 2022, Cobalt Blue secured a grant from the Australian Government for the Broken Hill Cobalt project.
