Cobalt

CVMR’s patented cobalt recovery process uses carbonyl chemistry to separate cobalt from materials containing nickel, iron and other constituents. The cobalt-bearing feed is first treated to form metal carbonyl compounds. Nickel and iron carbonyls are separated from the cobalt-bearing fraction, allowing the metals to be recovered through controlled stages of the process. The remaining cobalt carbonyl is treated with a mixture of nitric oxide and carbon monoxide to form cobalt nitrosyl tricarbonyl. This compound is separated and thermally decomposed to produce purified cobalt, while process gases can be recovered and recycled within the system. The process is applicable to cobalt-bearing ores, concentrates, metallurgical intermediates, by-products and secondary materials containing cobalt together with nickel and/or iron.

Iron-rich limonitic laterite, sometimes referred to as ferralite, can contain approximately 40–45% iron, 1–1.5% nickel and 0.04–0.10% cobalt. These ranges are representative of some lateritic ore bodies rather than a universal composition. Cobalt occurs at much lower concentrations than nickel and is generally recovered, when economically viable, as a by-product of nickel processing. Depending on the processing route, a significant portion of the contained cobalt may remain unrecovered. A refining process capable of recovering nickel, cobalt and iron as separate saleable products can capture value from a larger proportion of the contained metals than a process focused primarily on nickel.

CVMR produces CNP-400 cobalt nano powder using its carbonyl-based powder technology. The process enables cobalt to be refined and converted into engineered nano-scale particles, with particle characteristics and morphology adjusted to meet specific application requirements. Cobalt nano-powders are used and investigated in applications that take advantage of cobalt’s magnetic and electromagnetic properties, including electromagnetic-wave absorption and shielding, magnetic fluids, high-density magnetic storage, magnetic inks and magnetic toner. CVMR’s nano-powder technology can also be used to produce cobalt-containing alloy powders, including ferro-cobalt compositions, to specified requirements.

Battery black mass is an intermediate material produced from processed lithium-ion batteries and can contain lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, depending on the battery chemistry. These materials require further separation, refining and purification before they can be returned to industrial or battery-material supply chains. CVMR has developed processes for recovering metals from black mass. Its disclosed technology includes the separation of lithium from the black mass followed by further processing of the remaining material to recover non-lithium metals. This provides a route for recovering cobalt together with other valuable battery metals from secondary feedstocks. CVMR’s refining technologies are also designed to produce battery-grade lithium, manganese, nickel, cobalt and vanadium for use in battery-material supply chains.

Platinum group metal concentrates and intermediate products can contain significant quantities of base metals, including nickel, iron and cobalt. Recovering these metals separately can both produce additional saleable products and increase the concentration of platinum group metals in the remaining material. CVMR applies its refining technologies to PGM-bearing materials to separate and recover base metals such as nickel, iron and cobalt while concentrating the platinum group metal fraction for subsequent refining. This approach allows value to be recovered from metals that might otherwise remain within the intermediate stream. CVMR has applied this capability in work involving PGM-bearing materials for companies including Braemore Resources, Sylvania Platinum and RAPPA Holding.