Cobalt Deposits ©2010 Dr. B. C. Paul Special Acknowledgement given to

As Veins Above Intrusives Black-Bird Copper Cobalt Deposits Often High Temperature Hydrothermal vein deposits

Cobaltite CoAsS 35.5% Cobalt Color Redish Silver White, Violet Steel Gray, Grayish Black Hardness 5.5 S.G Non Fluorescent Magnetic after heating Streak grayish black

Cobaltite Locations

Skutterudite (Co,Ni)As 2.5 Solid Solution – about 18% Cobalt Color White, Light Silver Gray Hardness S.G. 6.5 Non Fluorescent Non Magnetic Streak Black

Known Mine Occurrences Also found with gold and silver arsenites

Arsenopyrite An Iron, Arsenic Sulfide usually found with Skutterudite FeAsS Hardness 5 SG 6.07 Color Tin white, Light steel gray Non Fluorescent Magnetic after heating Streak Black

Zambian Copper Belt (Hydrothermal Introduction)

Carrollite Cu(Co,Ni) 2 S % Cobalt 20.5% Copper Color Bright Silver Hardness S.G. 4.8 Non Magnetic Non Fluorescent Streak Gray Black

Known Mine Occurrences

SPHAEROCOBALTITE CoCO % Cobalt Color Gray Brown, Pink, Black, Rose Red Hardness 3-4 S.G. 4.1 Non Magnetic Non Fluorescent Streak Pink

Cobalto Calcite Part of a solid solution where cobalt and Calcite trade off in the carbonate

Erythrite Co 3 (AsO 4 ) 2 8(H 2 O) 29.53% Co Hardness Color Colorless, Violet red, Light pink, Purple red. SG 3.12 Non Magnetic Non Fluorescent Streak pinkish red

Glaucodot (Co,Fe)AsS 26.76% Cobalt Color Grayish tin white, Reddish silver white. Hardness 5 SG 5.95 Non Fluorescent Non Magnetic Streak Black

Cobalt Processing Cobalt is a Coproduct or Byproduct –Coproduct is where two minerals make the ore worth while –Byproduct is where you would never mine an ore for something, but while you are processing it is worth while to get the other ingrediant. –Almost no ore is ever valuable for cobalt alone –Cobalt also is similar enough to copper and nickel that it likes to stay with them in processing –Variety of ways by which cobalt can be separated.

Copper-Cobalt Sulfides Grind the Ore Use Flotation to produce a concentrate of sulfide minerals Roast the concentrates to make oxides Acid Leach the oxides Precipitate out the iron and aluminum Electrowin out the copper Selectively precipitate out Copper, Nickel and Zinc Finally add lime to produce cobalt hydroxide Re-dissolve the cobalt hydroxide Electrowin the cobalt from solution

What is Cobalt Used For?

What Do We Have for Reserves

What is Cobalt Worth Is running around $19 to $20 in 2010