Cobalt Blue and Glomar Minerals Progress Project Infinity Nodule Collaboration

Cobalt Blue (ASX: COB) has reported solid progress on its Project Infinity partnership with US critical minerals company Glomar, based around the construction and operation of the world’s first commercial refinery to process polymetallic nodules from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico.

Since the consortium was formed in March, the partners have advanced the site selection process, engaging with US state economic development offices and senior government representatives to create a shortlist of four potential brownfields locations across Texas, North Carolina, and Louisiana.

Sites have been rigorously assessed against key operational and strategic criteria including proximity to port infrastructure and reagents, access to established utilities and transport networks, and availability of skilled labour.

They each have streamlined permitting pathways to support near-term development and future expansion.

Strong Multi-Metal Grades

Bench-scale test work has also commenced on a 25 kilogram sample of CCZ nodules at Cobalt’s Broken Hill Technology Centre (BHTC) to assist in determining the optimal starter feed and defining the scope of work for a planned pre-feasibility study.

Initial data has highlighted the nodules’ strong multi-metal grades and reinforced their potential as a competitive alternative to land-based resources.

Cobalt Blue chief executive officer Dr Andrew Tong called the test work a “material step toward unlocking new, secure supply chains”.

“In the global race for critical minerals, control of processing will define the winners—the nodule samples […] mark a key milestone in demonstrating our technology at scale and underscore Cobalt Blue’s role as a leader in critical minerals processing.”

Polymetallic Processing

Project Infinity is advancing a fully-integrated, multi-metal processing platform targeting manganese, cobalt, nickel and copper production and combining Glomar’s offshore resources with Cobalt’s proprietary hydrometallurgical processing technology.

The refinery will be designed to produce high-purity manganese sulphate and cobalt sulphate for the battery markets along with nickel and copper metal, with recovery of leach residues containing iron, titanium and light rare earths planned for Phase 2 of the project.

The partners aim to process 200,000 tonnes of polymetallic nodules and 7,500t of cobalt hydroxide per annum.

A feedstock containing manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, titanium, and rare earth elements, polymetallic nodules are collected from ocean depths using specialised robotic systems and loaded onto surface vessels for shipment to shore for processing.

Unlike traditional mining, no drilling, blasting or large-scale excavation is required and because the nodules sit unattached on the seabed, they provide a simpler pathway to recover multiple critical minerals with the potential for lower-impact, scalable production.

CCZ Area Tenements

Glomar Minerals owns the UK1 and UK2 exploration tenements within the CCZ over an area of approximately 133,000 square kilometres and holds a 19.9% interest in a third licence for an additional 58,000 sq km.

The company has invested more than US$40 million on the licences since 2012 covering oceanographic and environmental surveys plus technical studies including harvesting and processing.

“America cannot achieve true energy security, manufacturing leadership, or technological independence without a reliable domestic supply of critical minerals,” Glomar Minerals executive chair Robbie Diamond said.

“The selection of these four sites represents an important step toward building the infrastructure necessary to process and refine the materials that power our economy, support our military, and enable next-generation technologies.”

New surveys have been planned for later this year and samples will be sent to the BHTC for piloting test work as part of the feasibility studies for Project Infinity.