Ann: Positive Scoping Study Completed on Opuwo Cobalt Project, page-417

On Opuwo being unfeasible low grade...

If you've read hundreds of company announcements across the ASX and other exchanges you'll understand that cobalt ain't easy: it comes either as tiny high grade hydrothermal veins between 0.1% and 1%, and massive low grade disseminated ores of either sulphide or oxide. Of the latter, 0.10-12% is about standard, <0.10% is lower grade, and >0.13% is better.

Only the massive deposits contain the cobalt necessary to create long lived mines. 

Opuwo has the virtue of having a massive resource, sulphide ore, and medium grade (compared to the field). In addition to that, decent co-products in copper and zinc that will reduce opex.

If CLA can't make Opuwo work, then I don't see much hope for any of the laterites or the smaller sulphides (all of Canada and the US), with the only remaining projects being large nickel or copper focused with some cobalt by-product. That pretty much leaves the battery industry at the mercy of the politics of the DRC and Chinese economic imperialism. I don't think Japanese, Korean, German and US firms will sit happy with that, and it seems they haven't, with some firms already making agreements for supply from "low grade" projects.

All current predictions see massive cobalt undersupply in the near future, bar a global recession. Opuwo is feasible, make no mistake.