The funds will help Chemaf complete the mechanisation of its Mutoshi cobalt and copper mine and solvent extraction- electrowinning (SX-EW) processing plant in Kolwezi, and progress the expansion of its Etoile SX-EW plant in Lubumbashi, Trafigura said.
Under the agreement Trafigura will market all the cobalt hydroxide produced by Chemaf's Congo operations, expected to continue until the end of 2027.
Mutoshi, near Kolwezi in Congo's Lualaba province, was the site of an artisanal cobalt mining formalisation project run by Trafigura and Chemaf along with non-governmental organisation PACT for nearly two years.
The project ended on Dec. 31 2020 as Chemaf aimed to turn the site into an industrial mine.
Mutoshi is now expected to be producing by the third quarter of 2023, Trafigura said.
(Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Louise Heavens)
