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Global Outlook on the Availability of Critical Metals and Recycling Prospects from Rechargeable Batteries
Published in Abhilash, Ata Akcil, Critical and Rare Earth Elements, 2019
Pratima Meshram, B.D. Pandey, Abhilash
The common cobalt-bearing minerals found in economic deposits include erythrite, skutterudite, cobaltite, linnaeite, carrollite, and asbolite (asbolane). Cobalt is also found in chemical compounds often associated with sulfur and arsenic (Table 2.2). Though some cobalt is produced from metallic-lustered ores like cobaltite (CoAsS) and linnaeite (Co3S4), it is industrially produced as a byproduct of copper, nickel, and lead. While nickel laterites are mostly processed directly, other Co-bearing ores are beneficiated (by flotation or gravity methods) to produce concentrates, which are hydrometallurgically processed to extract cobalt (Shedd, 2004). Cobalt present as a byproduct of copper is concentrated (sulfides) and converted to oxides by roasting. The oxide is leached in sulfuric acid dissolving metals more reactive than copper, particularly Fe, Co, and Ni as sulfates. After removing iron as iron oxide, cobalt is precipitated as Co(OH)3, which is roasted and then reduced to cobalt metal with charcoal or hydrogen gas (Panayotova and Panayotov, 2014).
A Comprehensive Review on Cobalt Bioleaching from Primary and Tailings Sources
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2023
Alex Kwasi Saim, Francis Kwaku Darteh
Cobalt (Co) is a transition metal that has become very essential for clean technologies in recent years (Sun et al. 2019; van den Brink et al. 2020). Batteries, fuel cells, motors, robotics, drones, 3D printing, and digital technologies are all cobalt-dependent vital technologies (Botelho Junior et al. 2021). It is estimated that global Co consumption in five years will increase by nearly 30%, owing primarily to rechargeable batteries (Djoudi, Le Page Mostefa, and Muhr 2021; Meshram, Virolainen, and Sainio 2022). Because of its irreplaceable functionality in many forms of contemporary technology, as well as the present high-risk status linked with its supply, Co has been listed as a ‘critical raw material’ by the European Commission and the US (Mauk et al. 2021). Cobalt is found in a range of primary (e.g. cobaltite, carrollite, and erythrite) and secondary (e.g. erythrite, heterogenite) minerals in the ore and mine waste (Ziwa, Crane, and Hudson-Edwards 2021). However, Co is nearly entirely mined as a by-product of copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) mining. For instance, approximately 1,800 tpa of Co is produced as a by-product of one of the largest known sulfide Ni resources in Finland (Riekkola-Vanhanen 2021).
Geological controls on locally elevated arsenic in the Glenorchy area, Otago, New Zealand
Published in New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 2023
The higher As concentrations generally occur in analyses with higher Fe concentrations, although the data show wide scatter in this regard (Figure 5A–D). Chlorite and pyrite are the two principal Fe-bearing minerals in these rocks and sediments, and both of these occur within the micaceous laminae (e.g. Figure 4B). Since pyrite is one of the main hosts of As, and is commonly accompanied by cobaltite (Figure 4A), the distribution of pyrite has a strong effect on measured As concentrations, and a lesser effect on measured Fe concentrations within a chlorite-rich background. The sulfide minerals are typically fine-grained (micron-scale) in these rocks (Figure 4A), so surface analyses at the scale of the fp-XRF instrument cannot resolve the sulfide distribution. The locations of pyrite grains, or clusters of grains, are indicated on the surfaces of many rocks by oxidation spots on foliation surfaces and in metamorphic veins (Figure 4B–D). However, these spots are too small to analyse specifically with the fp-XRF instrument, and none of the highest As concentrations were obtained on these spots.
Controls on cobalt and nickel distribution in hydrothermal sulphide deposits in Bergslagen, Sweden - constraints from solubility modelling
Published in GFF, 2020
In scenarios involving neutralization or cooling of acidic, H2S-dominated hydrothermal fluids, destabilization of the Co and Ni complexes would occur entirely within the pyrite stability field. Although detailed mineral-fluid trace element partitioning is difficult to assess due to the current predominance of recrystallized, metamorphic parageneses in the deposit, we infer that these conditions were more conducive for sequestration of Co and Ni in pyrite. This scenario is applicable to VMS deposits globally. Consistent with the source rock inferences above, Co- and Ni-rich VMS deposits are most commonly hosted by mafic to ultramafic successions (Galley et al. 1999). One example is the Bald Mountain deposit in Northern Maine, US, which has more than 1 km of hyaloclastitic basalt in the stratigraphic footwall (Slack et al. 2003). Up to 2500 ppm Co in pyrite was reported by Slack et al. (2003), who also reported glaucodot and rare cobaltite.