|
| TABLE 8 | ||||||||||||
| COBALT: SELECTED PROJECTS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION, BY YEAR, BY 2015 1, 2 | ||||||||||||
| Annual | ||||||||||||
| production | ||||||||||||
| capacity | ||||||||||||
| Projected | (metric | |||||||||||
| year of first | Principal | tons, cobalt | ||||||||||
| production | Country | Project and company3 | Project type4 | metal | Ore/feed type | content) | Cobalt product | |||||
| 20115 | Australia | Niwest | new mine and heap- | nickel | nickel-cobalt laterite | 1,400 | Nickel-cobalt- | |||||
| GME Resources Ltd. | leaching operation | ore | sulfide. | |||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | Ravensthorpe | reopen mine and- | do. | do. | 1,400 | Nickel-cobalt- | |||||
| First Quantum Minerals Ltd. | modify existing- | hydroxide. | ||||||||||
| PAL processing | ||||||||||||
| operation | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Canada | Lockerby Depth | expansion of existing | do. | nickel-copper-cobalt | 80 | 6 | Nickel-copper- | ||||
| First Nickel Inc. | mine- | sulfide ore | cobalt sulfide ore. | |||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | Raglan Mine | expansion of existing | do. | nickel-copper- | NA | 6 | Nickel concentrate. | ||||
| Xstrata Nickel | mine, stage 1 | cobalt-platinum- | ||||||||||
| group metals sulfide | ||||||||||||
| ore | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | China | Cobalt plant, phase I | new refinery | cobalt | NA | 2,000 | NA. | |||||
| Jiangwu Cobalt Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| (Jiangxi Rare Earth & | ||||||||||||
| Rare Metals Tungsten | ||||||||||||
| Group Holding Co., Ltd., | ||||||||||||
| Ganzhou State-Owned | ||||||||||||
| Assets Management Co., | ||||||||||||
| Ltd., and Ganzhou | ||||||||||||
| Expressway Co., Ltd.) | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | Jiangsu Runjie New Material | do. | do. | cobalt concentrate | 2,000 | Cobalt metal- | |||||
| Nanjing Hanrui Cobalt Co., | or cobalt | powder, cobalt- | ||||||||||
| Ltd. | carbonate | oxalate, cobalt- | ||||||||||
| carbonate, cobalt | ||||||||||||
| oxide. | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Congo | Kipoi, stage 1 | new mine and | copper | copper-cobalt oxide | NA | Stockpiled cobalt | |||||
| (Kinshasa) | Congo Minerals sprl | beneficiation plant | ore | ore or cobalt | ||||||||
| (subsidiary of Tiger | concentrate for | |||||||||||
| Resources Ltd.) and La | sale. | |||||||||||
| G-n-rale des Carri-res et- | ||||||||||||
| des Mines (G-camines) | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | Luilu Metallurgical Plant, | refurbishment and | do. | copper-cobalt oxide | 8,000 | 6 | Cobalt cathode. | ||||
| accelerated development | expansion of | and sulfide | ||||||||||
| plan, new phase 3 | existing beneficiation | concentrates | ||||||||||
| Katanga Mining Ltd. and | plant and refinery | |||||||||||
| La G-n-rale des Carri-res- | ||||||||||||
| et des Mines (G-camines) | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | Luisha South DMS plant- | new beneficiation plant | do. | stockpiled copper- | 215 | Copper-cobalt | |||||
| stockpile | cobalt oxide ore | concentrate. | ||||||||||
| African Metals Corp. | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | Luita SX-EW line | addition to existing | cobalt | cobalt in solution | 3,200 | 7 | Cobalt cathode. | ||||
| Boss Mining Sprl [Eurasian | plant- | |||||||||||
| Natural Resources Corp.- | ||||||||||||
| PLC and La G-n-rale des- | ||||||||||||
| Carri-res et des Mines- | ||||||||||||
| (G-camines)] | ||||||||||||
| See footnotes at end of table. | ||||||||||||
| TABLE 8-Continued | ||||||||||||
| COBALT: SELECTED PROJECTS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION, BY YEAR, BY 2015 1, 2 | ||||||||||||
| Annual | ||||||||||||
| production | ||||||||||||
| capacity | ||||||||||||
| Projected | (metric | |||||||||||
| year of first | Principal | tons, cobalt | ||||||||||
| production | Country | Project and company3 | Project type4 | metal | Ore/feed type | content) | Cobalt product | |||||
| 2011 | Congo | Mutanda, phase I | new refinery | copper | copper-cobalt oxide | 11,000 | Cobalt hydroxide. | |||||
| (Kinshasa) | Mutanda Mining SPRL | ore | ||||||||||
| [Glencore International AG, | ||||||||||||
| Groupe Bazano, and La | ||||||||||||
| G-n-rale des Carri-res et- | ||||||||||||
| des Mines (G-camines)] | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | Mutanda, phase 2 | expansion of existing | do. | do. | 23,000 | 6 | Do. | ||||
| Mutanda Mining SPRL | operation | |||||||||||
| [Glencore International AG, | ||||||||||||
| Groupe Bazano, and La | ||||||||||||
| G-n-rale des Carri-res et- | ||||||||||||
| des Mines (G-camines)] | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Do. | NA | new mines, beneficiation | do. | copper-cobalt ore | 1,500 | Cobalt carbonate. | |||||
| Metal Mines SPRL (Nanjing | plant, and processing | |||||||||||
| Hanrui Cobalt Co., Ltd.) | plant | |||||||||||
| 2011 | Papua New | Ramu | new mine, beneficiation | nickel | nickel-cobalt laterite | 3,300 | Nickel-cobalt- | |||||
| Guinea | Metallurgical Corporation of | plant, and HPAL | ore | hydroxide. | ||||||||
| China Ltd., Jinchuan Group | processing plant | |||||||||||
| Ltd., Jilin Jien Nickel | ||||||||||||
| Industry Co., Ltd., Jiuquan | ||||||||||||
| Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd., | ||||||||||||
| Highlands Pacific Ltd., and | ||||||||||||
| Mineral Resources- | ||||||||||||
| Development Co. | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | South Africa | Base Metals Refinery | expansion of existing | do. | nickel-cobalt- | 825 | e, 6 | Cobalt sulfate. | ||||
| Anglo Platinum Ltd. | refinery | platinum-group- | ||||||||||
| metals converter- | ||||||||||||
| matte | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Zambia | New Nchanga smelter | expansion of- | copper | copper-cobalt | 5,000 | 6 | Alliage rouge. | ||||
| Konkola Copper Mines Plc | production from | concentrates | ||||||||||
| existing smelter | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Australia | Cawse | reconfigure existing | nickel | nickel sulfide ore | NA | Nickel hydroxide. | |||||
| OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel | plant | |||||||||||
| 20125 | Do. | Gladstone Nickel, stage 1 | new mine, beneficiation | do. | nickel-cobalt laterite | 6,000 | Cobalt metal. | |||||
| Gladstone Pacific Nickel Ltd. | plant, HPAL | ore | ||||||||||
| processing plant, | ||||||||||||
| and refinery | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Do. | Mount Gunson MG 14 deposit | new mine and | copper | copper-cobalt-silver | 215 | Copper-cobalt | |||||
| Gunson Resources Ltd. | beneficiation plant | sulfide ore | concentrate. | |||||||||
| 2012 | Do. | Radio Hill | new bacterial heap- | nickel | nickel-copper sulfide | NA | Nickel-cobalt- | |||||
| Fox Resources Ltd. | leaching operation | ore and tailings | carbonate. | |||||||||
| 2012 | Do. | Rocklands Group Copper | new mine and | copper | copper-cobalt-gold | NA | Cobaltic-pyrite | |||||
| CuDeco Ltd. | beneficiation plant | oxide and sulfide- | concentrate. | |||||||||
| ore | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Brazil | Sao Miguel Paulista refinery | expansion of existing | nickel | nickel-cobalt matte | 3,100 | 6 | Cobalt cathode. | ||||
| Votorantim Metais Niquel SA | refinery | |||||||||||
| 2012 | Canada | Nunavik Nickel | new mine and | do. | nickel-copper- | 425 | 8 | Nickel concentrate. | ||||
| Jien Canada Mining Ltd. and | beneficiation plant | cobalt-platinum- | ||||||||||
| Goldbrook Ventures Inc. | group metals | |||||||||||
| sulfide ore | ||||||||||||
| See footnotes at end of table. | ||||||||||||
| TABLE 8-Continued | ||||||||||||
| COBALT: SELECTED PROJECTS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION, BY YEAR, BY 2015 1, 2 | ||||||||||||
| Annual | ||||||||||||
| production | ||||||||||||
| capacity | ||||||||||||
| Projected | (metric | |||||||||||
| year of first | Principal | tons, cobalt | ||||||||||
| production | Country | Project and company3 | Project type4 | metal | Ore/feed type | content) | Cobalt product | |||||
| 2012 | Congo | Luisha South DMS plant- | new mine and | copper | copper-cobalt oxide | NA | Copper-cobalt | |||||
| (Kinshasa) | hard rock | beneficiation plant | and sulfide ores | concentrate. | ||||||||
| African Metals Corp. | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Do. | Usoke refinery, EW plant | addition to existing | do. | copper-cobalt ore | 3,000 | 7 | Cobalt cathode. | ||||
| for cobalt | refinery | |||||||||||
| Chemaf SPRL | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Finland | Kevitsa | new mine and | nickel | nickel-copper- | 400 | e, 8 | Nickel-cobalt- | ||||
| First Quantum Minerals Ltd. | beneficiation plant | cobalt-platinum- | platinum-group | |||||||||
| group metals- | metals concentrate. | |||||||||||
| gold sulfide ore | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Do. | Outokumpu stage 1 (formerly | new mine and- | copper | copper-zinc-cobalt- | 940 | 8 | Cobalt-nickel | ||||
| Kylylahti) | refurbished | nickel-gold sulfide | concentrate.9 | |||||||||
| Altona Mining Ltd. (Universal | beneficiation plant | ore | ||||||||||
| Resources Ltd. and Vulcan | ||||||||||||
| Resources Ltd.) | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Do. | Talvivaara | expansion of existing | nickel | nickel-zinc-copper- | 1,800 | 6 | Nickel-cobalt sulfide. | ||||
| Talvivaara Mining Co. Ltd. | operation | cobalt sulfide ore | ||||||||||
| 2012 | Madagascar | Ambatovy Joint Venture | new mine, HPAL- | do. | nickel-cobalt laterite | 5,600 | Cobalt metal powder | |||||
| Sherritt International Corp., | processing plant,- | ore | and briquettes. | |||||||||
| Sumitomo Corp., Korea | and refinery | |||||||||||
| Resources Corp., SNC- | ||||||||||||
| Lavalin Group Inc. | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | South Africa | Middleburg smelter | adapt existing smelter | platinum- | platinum-group- | NA | Nickel-copper- | |||||
| Jubilee Platinum plc | to include ConRoast | group- | metals concentrates | cobalt-iron- | ||||||||
| process | metals- | and sludge | platinum-group- | |||||||||
| nickel | metals alloy. | |||||||||||
| 20125, 10 | Turkey | Caldag | mine and heap-leaching | nickel | nickel-cobalt laterite | 1,000 | Nickel-cobalt | |||||
| European Nickel PLC- | operation | ore | hydroxide. | |||||||||
| 2012 | United States | Idaho Cobalt | new mine and refinery | cobalt | stratiform cobalt- | 1,625 | Cobalt cathode. | |||||
| (Idaho) | Formation Metals Inc.- | copper-gold ore | ||||||||||
| 2012 | Zambia | Chambishi Copper Smelter | expand existing- | copper | copper-cobalt | NA | 11 | NA. | ||||
| China Nonferrous Metal | smelter | concentrates | ||||||||||
| Mining Group Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| and Yunnan Copper | ||||||||||||
| Industry Group Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | Do. | Chambishi Metals | new SX-EW cobalt | do. | NA | 3,000 | Cobalt cathode. | |||||
| Eurasian Natural Resources | plant | |||||||||||
| Corp. PLC | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | Australia | Barnes Hill | new mine and ATML | nickel | nickel-cobalt laterite | 400 | e | Nickel-cobalt- | ||||
| Proto Resources & Investments | processing plant | ore | intermediate. | |||||||||
| Ltd. and Metals Finance Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| 20135 | Do. | Wingellina Nickel | new mine and HPAL | do. | do. | 3,000 | 8 | Nickel-cobalt | ||||
| Metals X Ltd.- | processing plant | hydroxide. | ||||||||||
| 2013 | Canada | NICO | new mine, relocated | gold | gold-cobalt-bismuth- | 1,550 | 8 | Cobalt cathode. | ||||
| Fortune Minerals Ltd. | and refurbished | copper ore | ||||||||||
| beneficiation plant, | ||||||||||||
| and refinery | ||||||||||||
| See footnotes at end of table. | ||||||||||||
| TABLE 8-Continued | ||||||||||||
| COBALT: SELECTED PROJECTS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION, BY YEAR, BY 2015 1, 2 | ||||||||||||
| Annual | ||||||||||||
| production | ||||||||||||
| capacity | ||||||||||||
| Projected | (metric | |||||||||||
| year of first | Principal | tons, cobalt | ||||||||||
| production | Country | Project and company3 | Project type4 | metal | Ore/feed type | content) | Cobalt product | |||||
| 2013 | Canada | Voisey-s Bay Long-Harbour | new refinery | nickel | nickel-copper- | 2,500 | Cobalt cathode. | |||||
| commercial nickel processing | cobalt sulfide | |||||||||||
| plant | concentrate | |||||||||||
| Vale S.A. | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | Congo | NA- | expansion of existing | copper | copper-cobalt oxide | 12,000 | 6 | NA. | ||||
| (Kinshasa) | Boss Mining Sprl [(Eurasian | operations | ore | |||||||||
| Natural Resources Corp.- | ||||||||||||
| PLC and La G-n-rale des- | ||||||||||||
| Carri-res et des Mines- | ||||||||||||
| (G-camines)] | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | Do. | Usoke refinery | expansion of existing | do. | copper-cobalt ore | 6,000 | 6 | Cobalt cathode and | ||||
| Chemaf SPRL | refinery | cobalt hydroxide. | ||||||||||
| 2013 | Do. | WOL-SX-EW refinery, new | new beneficiation plant | do. | copper-cobalt oxide | 12,000 | Cobalt hydroxide. | |||||
| phase 4 | and SX-EW refinery | and sulfide ore | ||||||||||
| Katanga Mining Ltd. and | ||||||||||||
| La G-n-rale des Carri-res- | ||||||||||||
| et des Mines (G-camines) | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | Japan | Niihama expansion | expansion of existing | nickel | nickel-cobalt sulfide | 4,500 | 6 | Cobalt cathode. | ||||
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.,- | refinery | and nickel matte | ||||||||||
| Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | Mexico | El Boleo | new mine and refinery | copper | copper-cobalt-zinc- | 2,400 | Do. | |||||
| Baja Mining Corp., Korea | manganese oxide | |||||||||||
| Resources Corp., L.S. Nikko | and sulfide ores | |||||||||||
| Copper Inc., Hyundai Hysco | ||||||||||||
| Co. Ltd., SK Networks Co. | ||||||||||||
| Ltd., and Iljin Copper Foil | ||||||||||||
| Co. Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| 2013-14 | Philippines | Mindoro Nickel | new mine, beneficiation- | nickel | nickel-cobalt laterite | 3,300 | Cobalt sulfate. | |||||
| Intex Resources ASA | plant, ATML and- | ore | ||||||||||
| HPAL processing- | ||||||||||||
| plant, and refinery | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | Do. | Taganito | new HPAL processing | do. | do. | 2,600 | Nickel-cobalt- | |||||
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.,- | plant | sulfide. | ||||||||||
| Ltd., Nickel Asia Corp., and- | ||||||||||||
| Mitsui & Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | United States | Eagle | new mine, crusher,- | nickel- | nickel-copper | 400 | e | Copper-nickel | ||||
| (Michigan) | Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. | and rehabilitated | copper | sulfide ore | concentrate. | |||||||
| beneficiation plant | ||||||||||||
| 2013e | United States | NorthMet | new mine, beneficiation- | copper | copper-nickel- | 360 | Separate nickel- | |||||
| (Minnesota) | PolyMet Mining Corp. | plant, and refinery | platinum-group | and copper | ||||||||
| metals sulfide ore | concentrates- | |||||||||||
| initially, followed- | ||||||||||||
| by nickel-cobalt | ||||||||||||
| hydroxide. | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | Zambia | Muliashi | new mine, heap-leaching | do. | copper-cobalt oxide | 1,500 | Cobalt hydroxide. | |||||
| China Nonferrous Metal | operation, and refinery | ore | ||||||||||
| Mining Group Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| See footnotes at end of table. | ||||||||||||
| TABLE 8-Continued | ||||||||||||
| COBALT: SELECTED PROJECTS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION, BY YEAR, BY 2015 1, 2 | ||||||||||||
| Annual | ||||||||||||
| production | ||||||||||||
| capacity | ||||||||||||
| Projected | (metric | |||||||||||
| year of first | Principal | tons, cobalt | ||||||||||
| production | Country | Project and company3 | Project type4 | metal | Ore/feed type | content) | Cobalt product | |||||
| 2014 | Cameroon | Nkamouna | new mine and- | cobalt | nickel-cobalt laterite | 6,100 | 8 | Cobalt-nickel | ||||
| Geovic Mining Corp. and- | processing plant | ore | sulfide. | |||||||||
| Soci-t- National- | ||||||||||||
| d'Investissement du | ||||||||||||
| Cameroun | ||||||||||||
| 2014e | Canada | Makwa | new mine and relocated | nickel | nickel-copper- | 150 | e | Nickel concentrate. | ||||
| Mustang Minerals Corp. | beneficiation plant- | platinum-group | ||||||||||
| metals sulfide ore | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | Do. | Minago | new mine and | do. | nickel-copper- | 230 | e, 8 | Do. | ||||
| Victory Nickel Inc. | beneficiation plant | cobalt-platinum- | ||||||||||
| group metals- | ||||||||||||
| precious metals | ||||||||||||
| sulfide ore | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | Congo | Kipoi, stage 2 | addition of heap- | copper | copper-cobalt oxide | 800 | NA. | |||||
| (Kinshasa) | Congo Minerals sprl | leaching and- | ore | |||||||||
| (subsidiary of Tiger- | SX-EW to existing- | |||||||||||
| Resources- Ltd.) and | operation | |||||||||||
| La G-n-rale des Carri-res- | ||||||||||||
| et des Mines (G-camines) | ||||||||||||
| 2014e | Do. | NA | new mine, beneficiation | do. | copper-cobalt ore | 19,000 | Alliage blanc. | |||||
| La Sino-Congolaise des Mines | plant, and smelter | |||||||||||
| Sarl (Sicomines) joint | ||||||||||||
| venture12 | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | Do. | Tenke Fungurume, phase 2 | expansion of existing | do. | copper-cobalt oxide, | 16,000 | 6 | Cobalt hydroxide. | ||||
| Freeport-McMoRan Copper | operation | mixed oxide/sulfide, | ||||||||||
| & Gold Inc., Lundin Mining | and sulfide ores | |||||||||||
| Corp., and La G-n-rale | ||||||||||||
| des Carri-res et des- | ||||||||||||
| Mines (G-camines) | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | Philippines | Acoje | new mine and heap- | nickel | nickel-cobalt laterite | 930 | 8 | Nickel-cobalt | ||||
| European Nickel PLC and | leaching operation | ore | hydroxide. | |||||||||
| DMCI Mining Corp. | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | Tanzania | Kabanga | new mine and | do. | nickel sulfide ore | NA | Nickel concentrate. | |||||
| Barrick Gold Corp. and Xstrata | beneficiation plant | |||||||||||
| Nickel- | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | Zambia | Ichimpe | new mine- | copper | copper-cobalt ore | 2,000 | NA. | |||||
| Zhonghui Mining Group Ltd. | ||||||||||||
| 2015 | Congo | WOL-SX-EW refinery, new | expand new- | do. | copper-cobalt oxide | 22,000 | 6 | Cobalt hydroxide. | ||||
| (Kinshasa) | phase 5 | beneficiation plant- | and sulfide ore | |||||||||
| Katanga Mining Ltd. and | and SX-EW refinery | |||||||||||
| La G-n-rale des Carri-res- | ||||||||||||
| et des Mines (G-camines) | ||||||||||||
| eEstimated. Do., do. Ditto. NA Not available. | ||||||||||||
| 1Estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits. | ||||||||||||
| 2Projects in feasibility or later stages of development in 2010. Actual startup dates may be postponed owing to economic or other factors. Additional projects | ||||||||||||
| might produce cobalt by 2015, but not enough information was available to include them. | ||||||||||||
| 3DMS dense media separation. EW electrowinning. SX-EW solvent extraction-electrowinning. WOL-SX-EW whole ore leach-solvent extraction- | ||||||||||||
| electrowinning. | ||||||||||||
| 4ATML Atmospheric leach. HPAL High pressure acid leach. PAL pressure acid leach. SX-EW solvent extraction-electrowinning.- | ||||||||||||
| 5Startup date provided before project postponement was announced; no information is available on the length of delay. | ||||||||||||
| TABLE 8-Continued | ||||||||||||
| COBALT: SELECTED PROJECTS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION, BY YEAR, BY 2015 1, 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6Total capacity following expansion. | ||||||||||||
| 7Addition will not increase total plant capacity. | ||||||||||||
| 8Average production. | ||||||||||||
| 9Cobalt-nickel concentrate will be stockpiled until a marketable product is developed. | ||||||||||||
| 10Placed on care-and-maintenance status until forestry permit is granted. | ||||||||||||
| 11Company plans to double copper capacity. | ||||||||||||
| 12The Sicomines joint venture comprises the following Chinese and Congolese companies: China Railway Group Ltd., Sinohydro Corp., Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.,- | ||||||||||||
| Ltd., and La G-n-rale des Carri-res et des Mines (G-camines). | ||||||||||||
Source: United States Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program
See also: Mineral commodity prices
