Cobalt, page-78

oNste,

Cobalt occurs in several different geological settings, usually in association with copper and/or nickel mineralisation.

rab posted an annual USGS report discussing global supply and demand which highlights the two main sources of cobalt as byproducts of African "red-bed" (stratiform, sediment-hosted Cu-Co) deposits (66%) and primary, komatiite and secondary laterite nickel deposits (33%). High-grade silver-cobalt veins make up the remaining 1%.

As a geologistexperienced in the subject, I can report that the average ratio of copper to cobalt in the African red-beds is 20:1 and the average ratio of nickel to cobalt in weathered and unweathered komatiites is 10:1.

Sconi is typical of the latter and the Ni:Co ratio holds true to the global average at 10:1 (0.6% Ni + 0.06% Co). The numbers themselves are not scary. What is scary is that AUZ think they can make a profit from processing ore with these low concentrations and compete with majors sitting on deposits and existing mines with more than twice the grade.

P

PS There is a third, abundant and as yet unreported global resource of Nickel-Copper-Cobalt (the USGS does not currently list) that sits on the ocean floor. Work over the past twenty years shows that there are billions of tonnes of naturally formed nodules sitting beneath 4km of ocean that can be recovered at grades exceeding 1%Ni + 1%Cu = 0.1%Co (i.e. average concentration of Ni-Cu-Co in work to date is 10:10:1). There are enough "battery" metal components precipitated near fissures along the ocean floor to satisfy global energy storage demand for thousands of years once rules for their environmentally safe recovery can be agreed in international waters. All terrestrial mining of Ni:Co would be at risk when this eventually happens!