A recent study published in Geology examines the potential for extracting cobalt from the Idaho Cobalt Belt (ICB) in east-central Idaho. Cobalt is a critical mineral that is necessary for the production of many rechargeable batteries used in the green energy transition. The ICB is home to the second-largest domestic cobalt resource, with demand expected to increase by over 500% by 2050. However, approximately 70% of the global cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where mining practices have been criticized for human rights violations. To address this, the Biden administration has prioritized increasing domestic production of critical minerals in the United States, such as the ICB.
Understanding the mineralogy of the Iron Creek deposit is essential to evaluate the amount of cobalt and other minerals that can be extracted and determine the optimal processing methods. Cobalt was previously mined intermittently in the ICB, with the Blackbird Mine being designated as a Superfund site after closing. In 2022, Jervois, an Australian mining company, began mining at another site in the ICB. Electra Battery Materials, a Canadian company, has been exploring the Iron Creek deposit.
The Iron Creek site has the potential to produce at least 6,000 metric tons of cobalt, mainly found in cobaltiferous pyrite. Cobalt in other deposits in the ICB is found in cobaltiferous arsenopyrite and cobaltite. The researchers explain that the cobalt in Iron Creek pyrite is bound up in the crystal lattice, requiring the destruction of the pyrite structure to extract it. The study also identifies other critical minerals present in the pyrite, but not enough to be economically viable for extraction.
The authors suggest separating the ore from Idaho for copper and cobalt processing separately due to the lack of infrastructure in the US to process the ore from the ICB into usable cobalt. Chalcopyrite can be processed for copper in existing facilities within the US, while minerals with cobalt require processing in either an existing facility in Canada or a new one built in the US.
The study also discusses the global cobalt supply chain, highlighting that the majority of the supply is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then processed in China. However, there has been increasing interest in battery technologies that use other ingredients, such as lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, which may reduce the demand for cobalt in the future.
