The Canadian-based mining company European Electric Metals is continuing its metallurgical testing of mineralised materials at the Skroska nickel-cobalt laterite mine in the Elbasan region of eastern Albania and has extended due diligence and closing date to July 31 2019.
The tests, which will be conducted by inspection and verification company SGS Canada at their Lakefield facility in Ontario, Canada, will focus initially on establishing how amenable the Skroska material is to high-pressure acid leaching. This process is a common way of recovering cobalt and nickel from nickel laterite.
“In the past, Skroska operated as a nickel mine with no value derived from the cobalt. Our underground sampling and assaying at the mine have confirmed our belief that elevated levels of cobalt exist,” said Fred Tejada, CEO and director of European Electric Metals. “Based on the success of the underground sampling program to date, we are now moving forward with the next step which is to determine how to best unlock the potential value of the cobalt alongside the nickel.”
European Electric Metals announced last November that it had completed the initial drilling phase at the Skroska mine.
Last October, the company said it had entered into €5.41-million acquisition agreement whereby it would purchase 100% of the shares in Albanian firm Gerold, the owner of the Skroska mine.
The Skorska mine under Gerold was previously running at a production of around 200 tonnes per day under a 20-year mining licence and focused only on nickel production. In 2013, low nickel prices meant the mine was put on care and maintenance.
European Electric Metals also operates the Rehova copper mine 115 km south-east of the capital Tirana under a 25-year licence from the Albanian Ministry of Energy.
The company's aim is to become one of the major suppliers of battery metals such as nickel, cobalt and copper.
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