Electra’s cobalt feedstock tests aim to expand NA supply for EV batteries

Key takeaways:

• Electra’s innovative hydrometallurgical process aims to secure critical battery materials and address potential lithium-ion battery shortages.
• New cobalt feedstock tests target North American resources, reducing reliance on foreign supply chains and tackling processing challenges.
• Electra’s Ontario refinery, backed by LG Energy Solution, explores advanced methods to process complex cobalt concentrates.

Securing critical battery materials with cobalt feedstock tests

A more secure supply of critical battery materials can, in turn, help mitigate potential shortages of lithium-ion batteries. Steel is the dominant material in EVs. So potential disruptions in steel demand from the EV industry can also be mitigated.

“Many North American cobalt-bearing mineral resources have remained undeveloped due to mineralogy that is incompatible with conventional smelting and refining,” Trent Mell, Electra’s chief executive officer, said. “Our hydrometallurgical process offers a potential domestic solution to that challenge, aligned with the battery market and geopolitical imperatives.”

Localizing critical mineral supply chains through cobalt feedstock tests

According to the company’s press release, “this initiative comes at a pivotal time, as US and Canadian governments continue to accelerate efforts to localize critical mineral supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign processing, particularly from China.”

The cobalt feedstock tests are being conducted on new processing methods. This is to determine if more of the material at the two locations can be processed to extract critical minerals.

The test results may help Electra make front-end modifications to the refinery’s leach circuit. This would allow it to process additional arsenic-bearing polymetallic sulfide concentrates, the company said.

Advancing hydrometallurgical technology for North American feeds

The cobalt feedstock tests will provide “a clearer picture of how North American cobalt-bearing concentrates can be processed using Electra’s hydrometallurgical technology,” George Puvvada, Electra’s vice president of metallurgy and technology, said. “North American concentrates often contain elevated levels of arsenic and other impurities, which have made them difficult to process using conventional methods.”

“Building on the successful completion of the company’s black mass recycling test program, I believe we can responsibly recover critical metals from North American feeds and significantly expand the range of materials our refinery can process,” Puvaada said.

Electra’s refinery project in Ontario has a long-term offtake agreement with lithium-ion battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution. This is for up to 80% of its output over the first five years.

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