ASX- and TSX-V-listed Jervois Global has restarted work on the bankable feasibility study (BFS) for its US cobalt refinery project and said that one of its cobalt customers, Global Tungsten & Powders (GTP), is considering a minority investment in the proposed refinery project.

Jervois and GTP entered a nonbinding explorative memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly evaluate GTP making a minority equity investment.

GTP, a leading supplier of high-quality tungsten and tungsten carbide powders, is expected to provide recycling feedstock for the US refinery as part of its potential equity investment. In addition, Jervois’ US cobalt refinery could potentially be collocated at GTP’s existing facilities in Towanda, Pennsylvania. Jervois’ two shortlisted sites are in Pennsylvania and Louisiana.

Jervois paused work on the BFS in April, following request by the Department of Defense (DoD) that has now been lifted.

The BFS is fully refundable through the existing DoD Defense Production Act Title III funding agreement.

The cobalt refinery will have a capacity of 6 000 t/y of cobalt in sulphate form, suitable for electric vehicles (EVs). The facility is expected to supply sufficient cobalt for about 1.2-million EVs a year.