Geometallurgical evaluation of metals recovery from Kupferschiefer ore

Abstract

Cobalt is the 33rd element in terms of prevalence in the Earth’s crust, with an average concentration around 20 ppm (Nordberg et al., 2015). Due to its heat resistance, strength and magnetic properties, cobalt has a wide variety of applications in which its use has advantages over other elements. Since 2014, cobalt has been identified as a strategic metal by the European Union. It is also classified as an E-tech element by the UK National Environmental Research Council (NERC), which indicates that this element is essential for technological development. Although almost all cobalt used in the EU is imported, the Polish Kupferschiefer deposit is recognised as the most significant potential source of cobalt in Europe. To date, cobalt is not recovered from this resource (Report on Critical Raw Materials for EU, 2014), a consequence of the relatively modest enrichment of cobalt. In this study, a geometallurgical analysis of ore extraction from the Kupferschiefer deposit was made. Emphasis was placed on identifying opportunities – and barriers – for by-product recovery of cobalt from the deposit.