Company: Cobalt mining in Idaho to start in 2011

Mining for cobalt — an element used in hybrid car batteries and jet engines — could get under way in the central Idaho mountains in 2011, after a Canadian company said it won initial federal approval for the plan. Formation Metals Inc. said Wednesday that winning the U.S. Forest Service's blessing for the first stage of its operations plan means workers can log the mining site and build roads in January. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mari-Ann Green said the Vancouver-based company aims to supply as many as 1,600 tons annually of 99.9 percent-pure cobalt to companies like United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt and Whitney unit, Rolls Royce Group Plc and Portland, Ore.-based Precision Castparts Corp. Cobalt is used in jet engines, hybrid vehicle batteries, prosthetic knees and hips, even radio frequency identification tags that help retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. track their products. Mining is due to start in Salmon-Challis National Forest, about 200 miles northeast of Boise, in 2011 and could continue for 30 years, the company said...read more