The plant is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024; the total investment in the project will be US$250 million.
Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), a leading diversified natural resources group headquartered in Luxembourg, has entered into an agreement with China’s BGRIMM Technology Group, one of the world’s leading mining and metals companies. The agreement concerns a high-quality cobalt processing plant that ERG is beginning to build in the DRC. This production facility is planned to be commissioned by the end of 2024. The cobalt hydroxide will be supplied by Metalkol, a DRC-based ERG enterprise that is one of the world’s largest producers of materials for the battery industry and one of the leading suppliers of cobalt to China. The agreement with BGRIMM was concluded on October 17 in Beijing within the framework of the III High-Level Forum on International Cooperation “One Belt, One Road”.
ERG continues to develop its portfolio of assets in the DRC and other countries around the world to produce high-quality materials for the lithium-ion battery sector. Over the past four years, the Group has increased the production capacity of Metalkol, ERG’s flagship plant, tenfold. ERG is also developing another key asset in the DRC, COMIDE, which has some of the world’s largest proven copper and cobalt reserves.
In this context, the cobalt concentrator that ERG will build in collaboration with BGRIMM will be an important addition to ERG’s portfolio of assets producing key battery materials, as the facility will supply high purity cobalt hydroxide to the battery market. It will also further strengthen the Group’s position as a strategic supplier of materials for the electric vehicle sector, produced in a transparent manner across the entire value chain.
Benedikt Sobotka, Chief Executive Officer of ERG, said: “Since the Belt and Road Forum was established, ERG has participated in this event every year because we know that important decisions for global industry are regularly made here. This Forum is no exception: the agreement between ERG and BGRIMM to build a high-quality cobalt concentrator further supports the extraction and processing of key minerals needed for the clean energy transition.”
“We are pleased to contribute to the growth of overall investment in cobalt processing in the DRC. It will also further improve infrastructure and create numerous benefits for the local population in this country, which is one of the most important centers of the mining and metals industry and plays a key role in the global cobalt industry,” added Mr. Sobotka.
