Seaweed grows for free in the ocean – and BPH Global is using it to extract silver; cobalt

Nanocap BPH Global (ASX:BP8) – not to be confused with similarly named BPH Energy, they’re different companies – has posted early-stage evidence effectively offering a proof of concept for their plans to extract minerals from seaweed.

Yes, the plants that grow in the ocean. It’s been long known certain species of seaweeds contain trace amounts of certain minerals but the extraction of minerals from seaweed is, perhaps predictably, difficult and hard to scale-up.

But, it can be done. Assays for silver from seaweed in a solution reflected 12.67mg/kg, while cobalt was slightly higher at 13.68mg/kg. Worth considering is that 1 kilogram is equal to a litre of water, so you could also express the silver assay result as 12.67mg/L.

How does it work? According to the company’s own chief, what they’re actually extracting is metals ‘absorbed’ from seawater by seaweed as part of its natural life cycle.

“The presence of cobalt and silver in the seaweed has been an exci;ng development,” Managing Director Matthew Leonard said.

“It appears that the seaweed has the potential to act like a sponge for base and precious metals in seawater and we intend to investigate this further.”

The company reports its Friday silver and cobalt assays were pulled from waters offshore the island of Sentosa, Singapore. Seawater was filtered, and the company has come away with silver and cobalt.

But that isn’t the real plan.

What BPH Global is really interested in is seeing how many metals they can extract from seaweed growing in brackish areas nearby polluted shipping lanes. Over years of development and port activity, heavy metals can easily begin to accumulate in sediment and, should the company’s sponge theory be correct, straight from the water column.

It’s definitely an idea that one may call far-fetched, and clearly, there’s going to need to be a lot of work done when it comes to scaling-up the tech. But that it can be done is perhaps, itself, an interesting value proposition.

BPH Global is, in turn, not a company afraid of innovation. Its main deal is actually seaweed sales into ASEAN food markets, and it’s trying to get more value wherever it can.

Just earlier this week, BP8 even floated the idea of using blockchain technology to keep track of its stock as it ships seaweed for consumption to its customers. Worth noting also is that the company’s latest minerals extraction study was designed in part by an R&D consultant – meaning the company shouldn’t find it hard to get a tax rebate.

The news was enough to see the fairly illiquid stock jump +25% in Friday morning trades to half a cent (0.005cps) based on just over $40,000 of turnover. The stock needs the support it can get: currently, BPH Global is boasting a market cap of around $2.5M.

BP8 last traded at half a cent.

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