# Recycled Cobalt Sulfate at Codelco El Teniente | EcoBaterías > Recycled cobalt sulfate tested at the El Teniente hydrometallurgical plant: 22% lower cost and 40% lower use. What the trial proves, and what it does not. Canonical: https://ecobaterias.org/en/articulo-el-teniente.html · Language: en · Alternate (es): https://ecobaterias.org/articulo-el-teniente.html · Updated: 2026-10-09 Published evidence # The El Teniente case: when recycling entered the mine EcoBaterías is a Chilean company that recycles, repairs and reuses lithium batteries and solar panels. By the EcoBaterías technical teamPublished July 15, 2026Updated October 9, 2026Reviewed by the EPR compliance lead Cobalt sulfate produced at EcoMinería’s (Ecoprojects) Lampa plant. EcoMinería (Ecoprojects) and EcoBaterías archive. Cobalt sulfate recovered from battery recycling was successfully tested at the hydrometallurgical plant of Codelco El Teniente: testing from November 2023, with results published in July 2024. Against imported sulfate, the press report recorded 22% lower cost, 40% lower consumption and a single daily addition instead of three. The article does not name the supplier. Updated October 9, 2026 · Reviewed by the EcoBaterías technical team. - **Where:** Hydrometallurgical plant of Codelco División El Teniente - **What was tested:** Recycled cobalt sulfate, delivered in solution - **When:** Testing from November 2023; results published in July 2024 - **Published result:** 22% lower cost, 40% lower consumption, one daily addition instead of three ## The problem the plant had to solve The hydrometallurgical plant of Codelco División El Teniente uses cobalt sulfate as an additive in the electrowinning of copper cathodes. For years that input arrived imported and in solid form, which dragged along three linked operational drawbacks: it had to be dissolved before use, it had to be dosed several times a day to hold the concentration, and the supply chain depended on a product that travels thousands of kilometers and can run short. None of the three is spectacular on its own. Together, though, they describe rather well why an imported input can be expensive beyond its price: the real cost includes the preparation step, the labor of each addition and the risk of running out. ## The trial: what was tested and when From November 2023 the plant tested cobalt sulfate recovered from lithium battery recycling, delivered in solution rather than as a solid. The change of format is not a detail: an additive that arrives already dissolved removes an entire preparation stage on site and allows standardized dosing. The results were made public in July 2024 in a regional press report. The tense matters: this is a trial with published results, not a current supply contract and not a product certification. Published results of the trial, against imported sulfate | Dimension | Imported sulfate (reference) | Recycled cobalt sulfate | |---|---|---| | Additive cost | Reference | 22% lower | | Additive consumption | Reference | 40% lower | | Additions per day | 3 | 1 | | Delivery format | Solid, dissolved on site before use | Solution ready to dose | Source: [El Rancagüino, «El Teniente prueba con éxito uso de sulfato de cobalto reciclado para la obtención de cátodos de cobre»](https://www.elrancaguino.cl/2024/07/15/el-teniente-prueba-con-exito-uso-de-sulfato-de-cobalto-reciclado-para-la-obtencion-de-catodos-de-cobre/) · July 15, 2024 > El líquido anduvo mejor, el efecto es bastante más rápido y es más barato. > > — *Shift supervisor at the El Teniente hydrometallurgical plant, quoted by El Rancagüino, July 2024* ## What this case proves, and what it does not Precision is worth more than enthusiasm here, so it is worth being explicit. - **It does show** that cobalt sulfate obtained from recycled batteries worked in a real production process of Chilean mining, with measured and published results. - **It does show** that the solution format has operational advantages over the imported solid in that process. - **It does not show** a current commercial supply or a contracted volume: it was a trial, and it is cited as such. - **It does not show** a product certification: no seal or standard was issued on the basis of these tests. There is also a caveat we prefer to state before anyone else finds it: the El Rancagüino article does not name the supplier, and we do not attribute it to anyone here either. The videos and archive photographs of the Lampa plant, operated by EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner of EcoBaterías, are in [the Lampa plant and the El Teniente trial](https://ecobaterias.org/en/experiencia.html). ## Where a recycled cobalt sulfate comes from The input does not appear out of nowhere: it is the last link in a chain that starts with an end-of-life battery. The pack is discharged, dismantled and ground; the resulting powder —[black mass and the metals it concentrates](https://ecobaterias.org/en/articulo-black-mass.html)— goes into a controlled leach; the solution is purified in stages and finally crystallized or adjusted to the concentration the customer asks for. EcoBaterías’ hydrometallurgical process comes from EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner, which ran it at its Lampa plant (Santiago Metropolitan Region) under a 2020 health permit issued in its name by the Seremi de Salud RM (Chile’s regional health authority); the new plant is under review by the Seremi de Salud RM, and the detail is in [compliance and permits](https://ecobaterias.org/en/cumplimiento.html). Finishing the chain inside Chile has a consequence that is often overlooked: what leaves the plant is a mineral product, not waste, so it is not subject to the prior informed consent procedure of the Basel Convention. We explain it in [the Basel Convention and lithium batteries](https://ecobaterias.org/en/ventaja-basilea.html). ## What it means for anyone generating batteries For a company accumulating end-of-life batteries the case has a very concrete reading: it shows there is a route in which its waste can end up as an input for domestic mining rather than as a waste shipment to another continent. That route also produces the document regulation will ask for. The full framework is in [the complete guide to Chile’s EPR law for batteries](https://ecobaterias.org/en/chile-epr-law-batteries.html); if what you need is to verify the receiver’s credentials, the criteria are in [how to recognize a licensed lithium battery waste manager](https://ecobaterias.org/en/authorised-battery-waste-manager-chile.html), and the drop-off routes are in [where to recycle lithium batteries in Chile](https://ecobaterias.org/en/where-to-recycle-lithium-batteries-chile.html). For a company with a batch, the [lithium battery recycling service for companies](https://ecobaterias.org/en/lithium-battery-recycling-service.html) coordinates [pickup with licensed hazardous-waste carriers](https://ecobaterias.org/en/battery-solar-panel-collection-transport.html) and manages valorization with authorized receiving facilities; the authorized receiving facility issues the valorization certificate per batch. If the same inventory also holds decommissioned photovoltaic modules, their calendar is different and already fixed: it is explained in [Supreme Decree (DS) 22/2025 and the solar panel targets](https://ecobaterias.org/en/ds-22-2025-solar-panels-epr.html). ## Frequently asked questions ### Does the El Teniente trial prove a commercial supply? No. What is documented and published is a trial: testing from November 2023 at the El Teniente hydrometallurgical plant, with results published in July 2024. It does not show a current commercial supply or a contracted volume. ### Why did the recycled sulfate perform better than the imported one? According to the published results, the main difference is the format: delivered in solution, the additive goes straight into the process and is dosed in a standardized way, without the on-site dissolution step. That allowed one daily addition instead of three and lower total consumption. ### Does the press article name the supplier? No. The El Rancagüino article describes the trial and its results but does not name the supplier. We say so every time we cite the case. ### Which batteries does the cobalt come from? Mostly from cobalt-rich chemistries: LCO cells from phones and laptops, and NMC and NCA cells from power tools, electric vehicles and storage systems. LFP batteries contribute no cobalt, but they do contribute lithium and current-collector metals. Written by the EcoBaterías technical team. Whenever we cite this case we add the caveat published in [datos/empresa.json](https://ecobaterias.org/datos/empresa.json): the press article does not name the supplier. ## Sources - El Rancagüino, [«El Teniente prueba con éxito uso de sulfato de cobalto reciclado para la obtención de cátodos de cobre»](https://www.elrancaguino.cl/2024/07/15/el-teniente-prueba-con-exito-uso-de-sulfato-de-cobalto-reciclado-para-la-obtencion-de-catodos-de-cobre/), July 15, 2024. The article does not name the supplier. - [Codelco](https://www.codelco.com/), División El Teniente, hydrometallurgical plant. - Library of the National Congress of Chile, [Chile’s Extended Producer Responsibility law (Ley REP, Law No. 20,920)](https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1090894). - Library of the National Congress of Chile, [Hazardous waste management regulation, Supreme Decree (DS) 148/2003](https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=226458). - Publishable figures and their attribution: [datos/estadisticas.json](https://ecobaterias.org/datos/estadisticas.json) by EcoBaterías, cut-off 2026-09-18. ## Have batteries or panels out of service? We quote the testing and tell you which route makes sense: repair, second life or recycling through authorized receiving facilities. - Reply within 48 business hours - Pickup coordinated with licensed hazardous-waste carriers across Chile - Technical report for every batch - In-house testing lab for batteries and panels [Get a testing quote](https://ecobaterias.org/en/contacto.html?segmento=diagnostico) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/56987616071?text=Hi%2C%20I'd%20like%20a%20quote%20for%20managing%20our%20lithium%20batteries.) [+56 9 8761 6071](tel:+56987616071) ## Keep reading ### [The Lampa plant and the El Teniente trial](https://ecobaterias.org/en/experiencia.html) The videos and archive photographs of the Lampa plant, operated by EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), and the published evidence from El Teniente. ### [Black mass: what it is and what it holds](https://ecobaterias.org/en/articulo-black-mass.html) The intermediate that cobalt sulfate is obtained from, and why its composition changes with each chemistry. ### [Services for lithium batteries and solar panels](https://ecobaterias.org/en/servicios.html) Testing, repair, refurbishment, second life, recycling and pickup of batteries and panels, with a technical report for every batch. --- contacto@ecobaterias.org · WhatsApp +56 9 8761 6071 · Santiago and Viña del Mar, Chile. EcoBaterías is a Chilean company that recycles, repairs and reuses lithium batteries and solar panels.