Cobalt – COB | Aussie Stock Forums

Cobalt Blue is big news in the cobalt world – it is the only large-scale, non-African, greenfield (that is, new) primary cobalt project in the world. In fact, the company describes itself as “the only pure-play cobalt producer in the listed world,” because virtually every other listed cobalt company produces cobalt as a by-product of nickel or copper mining. Cobalt Blue’s Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) will have cobalt as its only product.

The BHCP has been granted Major Project Status from the federal government. If everything goes according to plan, the BHCP could come onstream in 2025, and produce more than 3,500 tonnes of cobalt metal a year, over 20 years. BHCP has a projected all-in sustaining cost an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) – a figure that incorporates not only the “cash cost” of production but all the costs that allow production to be sustained – of US$12 a pound. At present cobalt prices at more than $US37 a pound, which would give the project very healthy margins – in fact, it would make money at historically low cobalt prices.

This year, Cobalt Blue is focusing on running its demonstration plant and delivering large-scale samples to potential offtake partners. It says its potential customers want to engage in longer-duration offtake agreements of up to about eight years, to support their EV production runs. COB says “non-African sustainably sourced cobalt” is becoming a premium material, as EV makers react to their consumer and legislative requirements, and seek to influence upstream sourcing. The company hopes to finalise all project approvals and a bankable feasibility study (BFS will be finalised by the end of this year, ready for a final investment decision (FID) on the project by the end of the first quarter of 2023.)

COB has doubled in a year, and the only analyst following the stock sees it as having run past fair value. But the BHCP is a very interesting project.