Fortune Minerals Nico Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper project, Northwest Territories. Photo courtesy of Fortune Mining Co., Ltd.
Historically, metallic cobalt is a by-product of mines, mainly involving other metals, such as silver. This was the case with the silver mine fever around the town of Cobalt in northeastern Ontario in 1903. The hundreds of veins in the camp are characterized by high-grade silver, accompanied by a variety of cobalt minerals.
The silver boom started slowly, but by 1906, there were 263 mining companies in the cobalt zone. Many famous mines have been built, such as Coniagas, Nipissing 407, Agaunico, Silverfields, O'Brien, Glen Lake Mines, Deer Horn Mines, Agnico, Temiskaming, Trethaway, Hi-Ho, Cart Lake, etc.
Silver mining continued until the 1980s, and cobalt remained a secondary interest. The cobalt mining area remained dormant until around 2017, when the rise in cobalt prices led to a significant increase in people's interest in cobalt and silver. Since 2017, the Cobalt camp has carried out a number of activities-exploration and drilling planning, stakeout, new discoveries, integration, plan changes, etc. In the long run, the initial fever naturally gives way to the people in it. (More on this later)
Cobalt is used in the manufacture of superalloys, superalloys, cutting tools, magnetic materials, petrochemical catalysts, medicines, steel materials and glazes. As early as the 1990s, only 1% of cobalt demand came from its use in rechargeable batteries.
Today, the cobalt market is largely driven by the "new economy" driving factors, including lithium-ion batteries, consumer electronics, electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage systems (ESS), which are the main uses of lithium-ion batteries. It accounts for 64 percent of cobalt demand in 2020.
Governments around the world have actually mandated the manufacture of electric vehicles and phased out internal combustion engines, leading to a forecast of 30% growth in electric vehicle sales. The consequences of the COVID virus sometimes affect the cobalt mark, but it will eventually end. The current trading price of cobalt is US$24.03 per pound, which is about 57% higher than a year ago. Therefore, cobalt prospectors and developers have targeted projects all over the world.
Cobalt is a fairly rare metal, which means that there are not so many cobalt projects or mines-whether as a primary commodity or as a secondary product, it is usually used with copper, nickel or silver. Cobalt is not produced like the gold or copper industry. Many projects and mines.
Commodity trader and mining company Glencore Plc [GLEN-LSE] recently stated that it will restart operations in Mutanda, the world’s largest cobalt mine in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), by the end of this year, and resume production in 2022.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) continues to be the world's main source of cobalt mining, supplying approximately 70% of the world's minerals. The use of child labor in artisanal mines is a big problem.
According to data from the United States Geological Survey, mine production in 2020 is the Democratic Republic of the Congo: 95,000 tons; Russia: 6,300 tons; the Philippines: 4,700 tons; Canada: 3,200 tons; China: 2,300 tons; the United States: 600 tons; and Australia: 5,700 tons . In 2020, the total global production in 2020 will be 140,000 tons, and the world reserves will be 7.1 million tons.
Due to the vigorous development of the electric vehicle industry, as the manufacturing industry increases, the demand for cobalt is expected to grow steadily, which bodes well for the cobalt industry.
Except for northeastern Ontario, there are not many other cobalt projects in North America. One company that stood out was Fortune Minerals Limited [FT-TSX], which attracted investor interest because its flagship NICO project in Northwestern Canada is one of the most advanced cobalt development assets outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Fortune is one of the few global companies that may become a supplier of "ethical cobalt", serving consumers seeking alternatives to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is currently the source of more than 60% of global production.
Amnesty International has warned electric car companies to look for alternatives to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is known for its mineral wealth, civil war and corruption.
However, "Fortune" is not just a game of cobalt. The unique metal combination of the NICO deposit includes 33 million tons of open and underground proven and probable reserves, including 1.1 million ounces of gold, 82 million pounds of cobalt, 102 million pounds of bismuth, and 27 million pounds of copper.
According to the 2014 feasibility study and recent optimization, the material can support the average annual output of the first 14 years of the 20-year mine life (the 2020 mine plan), including 1,800 tons of cobalt in battery-grade cobalt sulfate per year, 47,000 ounces per year The gold, ingots and bismuths in the dole bars are 1,700 tons per year, and the copper in the cement deposits are 300 tons per year.
The study showed that ore can be extracted from proposed open-pit mines and underground mines and factories, which will produce bulk concentrate, which will then be shipped to the company's planned refinery in southern Canada.
The products that the proposed refinery will produce include cobalt chemicals, bismuth metals and chemicals used to make high-performance rechargeable batteries, and gold.
It is worth noting that the company has obtained environmental assessment approval and key permits to build and operate NICO mines and concentrators in the northwestern region.
Fortune also owns the satellite Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold deposit 25 kilometers north of the NICO mining area and other exploration projects in the Northwest Territories, and reserves the right to buy back the Arctos anthracite coal deposit in northwest British Columbia. It was previously acquired by a Crown company in British Columbia.
Fortune magazine sees Sue-Dianne as a potential source of incremental mill feed in the future, which can extend the service life of NICO mills and concentrators
Sue-Dianne has 8.4 million tons of indicated resources, with a grade of 0.80% copper, 3.2 g/ton silver and 0.07 g/ton gold. In addition, there is an inferred resource of 1.62 million tons of 0.79% copper, 2.4 g/ton silver and 0.07 g/ton gold.
"Cobalt plays a key role in accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, and advanced assets like our NICO project are needed to help meet growing demand and diversify the supply chain," said Robin Goad, President and CEO of Fortune.
The NICO project is located 160 kilometers northwest of Yellowknife and 50 kilometers north of Whati, an aboriginal community in the North Slave District
Due to its remote location, the Tlicho Expressway, which is being built for the NWT government, is a key driving force for NICO development and is about to be completed and is expected to be opened to the public later this year. The $213 million, 97-kilometer all-season road to the Whati community, together with the branch road constructed under the Fortune plan, will allow the metal concentrate to be trucked from the mine site to the Haihe River or the railway starting point for enterprises in the Northwest region. Transport to the company’s planned hydrometallurgical refinery.
"Fortune" magazine stated that the total cost of the project was approximately US$775 million. But the focus now is on various optimization and refinery sites, aiming to provide projects that are more financially sound than those envisaged in the 2014 feasibility study.
To complement this work, Fortune magazine recently launched a 3,000-meter drilling program to test the potential expansion of the NICO deposit at the eastern end of the deposit. It said that prospectors will also test up to four additional targets defined by previous geological and geophysical projects.
Fortune recently raised nearly US$542,000 from a private placement of 3.9 million shares at an issue price of 14 cents per unit. It also received a grant of US$144,000 from the Northwest Territories Government.
On October 22, 2021, Fortune’s stock price traded at US$0.13 in a 52-week range of 27 cents and US$0.06. Based on the 366 million shares issued, the company’s market value was US$47.58 million.
Other notable companies in the cobalt field include:
Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. [CCW-TSXV; CCWOF-OTC] recently reported the results of high-grade cobalt analysis found in its Castle East, which is 1.5 kilometers away from the 100% owned and previously produced Castle Mine, located in Cobalt Near Gowganda, the silver-cobalt area in the northeast of the town, the mine has completed 42,000 meters of the 60,000-meter drilling plan, aiming to significantly increase its 43-101 resource estimate. Canada Silver Cobalt Works recently discovered a major high-grade silver vein system in Castle East. The company also has a pilot plant and processing facilities.
Kuya Silver Corp. [KUYA-CSE] has issued a notice expressing its intention to exercise the option to obtain the remaining mineral rights of the First Cobalt Corp. [FCC-TSXV; FTSSF-OTCQX] Cobalt camp. Kuya previously acquired a 100% interest in real estate projects surrounding the Kerr Lake area for US$4 million.
First Cobalt owns a hydrometallurgical cobalt refinery in the town of Cobalt. The refinery may produce cobalt sulfate for the lithium-ion battery market, or cobalt metal for the North American aerospace industry or other industrial and military applications.
With permits and building infrastructure in place, the first cobalt refinery will be put into operation as early as 2022. Once put into operation, the refinery will produce 25,000 tons of battery-grade cobalt sulfate each year, accounting for more than 5% of the world's cobalt production.
Cruz Battery Metals Corp. [CRUZ-CSE; BKTPF-over-the-counter; A2DMG8], formerly known as Cruz Cobalt Corp., completed a 837-meter-long three-hole diamond drilling rig at the Hector Silver-Cobalt mine. The company is a large-scale mineral property holder in the Cobalt area, which also includes the Bucke, Coleman, Johnson and Lorraine exploration areas.
Fuse Cobalt Inc. [FUSE-TSXV; FUSEF-OTC; 43W3-FSE], formerly known as Lico Energy Metals, recently reported that the Ontario government announced a joint investment of 10 million Canadian dollars in the first cobalt refinery of Ontario cobalt mine . It is worth noting that the refinery is located about 1,500 meters west of the company's cobalt exploration area. Fuse holds Teledyne Cobalt assets located in Bucke and Lorrain Townships and Glencore Bucke assets located on the western border of Teledyne's assets.
Brixton Metals Corp. [BBB-TSXV; BBBXF-OTCQB] has a 100% interest in the Langis-Hudbay silver and cobalt project near Cobalt Town. Between 1908 and 1989, the Ranjis mine produced 10.4 Moz silver and 358,340 pounds of cobalt at a price of 25 ounces/ton. Between 1903 and 1953, the Hudson Mine produced 4 million ounces of silver and 185,570 pounds of cobalt.
iMetal Resources Inc. [IMR-TSXV; ADTFF-OTC] reported that gold sample values at its flagship Gowganda West mine were 67.9, 29.6 and 11.3 grams/ton.
Eagle Mine of Lundin Mining Corp. [LUN-TSX; LUNMF-OTC; LUMI-Sweden] Michigan produces cobalt-containing nickel concentrates.
Jervois Global Ltd. [JRV-TSXV, ASX; JRVMF-OTC] is constructing the Idaho Cobalt Project (ICP) about 40 kilometers away from the Salmon in Central and Eastern Idaho. This is a major cobalt deposit. During the 7-year mine life, it is estimated that 1,200 tons of superalloy-grade high-purity cobalt metal can be produced per day.
The company has pledged to invest more than US$30 million in equipment, materials, and labor costs for on-site and detailed engineering. The construction, procurement and engineering progress were completed on time, and it is expected that the planning and commissioning of the mine will be completed in the middle of 2022. At present, the underground project has started.
The company said this historic step marks the first time in decades that the United States has a major cobalt mine in its territory.
Bryce Croker, CEO of Jervois, said: "Cobalt is a vital material for defense and civilian applications. The electrification of the transportation sector in the United States and the world is and is expected to continue to drive the extraordinary growth of cobalt demand."
Some analysts predict that demand for cobalt this year will increase by 17% over 2020, and that due to the electrification of the world's fleet, demand will increase in the future. For example, Ford Motor Company [F-NYSE] recently announced an investment of $11 billion to build electric vehicles in Tennessee and Kentucky, creating 11,000 new jobs. The news is nothing better than this.
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