Havilah Resources Limited (ASX:HAV) has added cobalt potential to an already attractive copper-gold project in South Australia, near the border of New South Wales.
An inferred resource has been calculated for the Kalkaroo copper-gold project near Broken Hill, which is estimated to contain 193.3 million tonnes of ore at 120 parts per million for a total of 23,200 tonnes of this key component of batteries.
It expands the company’s JORC resource cobalt inventory to 31,390 tonnes “with appreciable upside potential”.
All in the current resource shell
Interestingly, the metal is found completely within the recently-reported Kalkaroo copper-gold sulphide resource shell.
The company is currently sitting on 1.1 million tonnes of copper and 2.6 million ounces of gold across the inferred, indicated and measured categories.
Walter Richards, chief executive, said: “There is great potential for cobalt-derived revenue to substantially increase the return from the Kalkaroo project.
“Kalkaroo is already an attractive advanced stage open pit copper-gold project and the value is further enhanced by this additional cobalt resource.”
Cobaltian pyrite
Given the metal is contained in cobaltian pyrite, which is a by-product of the copper flotation process, Richards thinks it is possible to recover the cobalt along with the associated gold in the pyrite.
“This highlights the importance of the metallurgical test work we are currently pursuing, including with Cobalt Blue Holdings, which is designed to establish the most economically efficient method for recovery of the cobalt,” he added.