Critical Mineral Resources (CMR) announced the signing of a binding heads of terms agreement to earn-in to the Zagora Cobalt Project in Morocco.

The company suggests that the Zagora project shows promising potential for cobalt mineralisation at the surface, with samples grading as high as 1.15% Co. CMR highlighted the project’s “strategic” location, close to the Bou Azzer district, where cobalt is actively mined by Managem Group.

Atlantic Research Minerals (ARM), a subsidiary of CMR, is set to invest substantial funds into the project, facilitating the development of a JORC standard scoping study. The project will then progress toward a pre-feasibility study and a definitive feasibility study, contingent on positive outcomes. ARM’s stake in the project will initiate at 20-25%, potentially increasing as the project achieves defined development milestones, ultimately reaching 70% upon delivery of a DFS.

Morocco hosts 0.2% of the world's cobalt reserves according to the USGS (13kt). Cobalt occurs as primary arsenide ores (skutterudite, erythrite and safflorite). Through Managem, Morocco is a small-scale mine, intermediate and refined producer of cobalt with all output from CTT (a Managem subsidiary). CTT operates the Bou Azzer mine which mines cobalt as a primary product. The underground mine supplies a hydrometallurgical plant in Guemassa, which produces cobalt in broken cathode form.  The company has plans to produce cobalt sulphate from 2025. 

CMR’s interest in Moroccan cobalt, while early stage, points to the potential for the north African country to play an increasingly prominent role in the lithium-ion story. The country’s cobalt is already an important part of the global supply chain. BMW signed a US$113M offtake deal with CTT which runs from 2020 to 2025 for cobalt broken cathode. In 2022, Glencore and Managem set up a five-year partnership to produce cobalt from recycled battery materials at Guemassa. And also, that year, Managem signed an MOU to supply Renault Group with cobalt sulphate. 

Meanwhile, South Korea's LG Chem, and Chinese company Youshan, a subsidiary of Huayou Group, recently announced plans to build a joint plant in Morocco to produce batteries for electric vehicles.