Jervois Global shares plummeted on Wednesday after the firm revealed it had paused final work at its flagship (ICO) Idaho Cobalt Operations in the U.S.

The decision, according to the firm, was made as a result of low cobalt prices & inflationary pressure on expenses. This caused the stock to drop about 42 percent in Sydney to A0.067 dollar per share.

Companies with important mineral projects from both the United States & Canada will be eligible for financial support this spring from a 250 million dollar fund, Canada & the United States said previous week.

Low Cobalt Prices grinds to Halt Mining Development

In order to speed up drilling to expand the mineral reserves & reserves at Idaho Cobalt Operations and to evaluate the development of an United States cobalt refinery, Jervois has submitted an application for funding to the United States Department of Defence.

In order to separate the copper & cobalt concentrates and create gold as a by product. The operation would require a mill and concentrator that could process 1,200 tonnes of material per day.

Over 80 percent of the world’s refining takes place in China, but capability is expanding abroad, particularly at the enormous Kokkola refinery in Finland, which Jervois acquired in 2021.