Demonstration campaigns were carried out at Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Bhubaneswar to revalidate the data generated in earlier campaigns for recovery of copper and mixed sulphide of nickel and cobalt. Process for separation of cobalt and nickel metal from sulphate solution produced at RRL(B) and electrowining of nickel and cobalt oxalate was demonstrated at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai.

Basic engineering & designs for a continuous demonstration pilot plant to process 500 Kg/day of the polymetallic nodules from Indian mine site is completed. This pilot plant will be established at Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZL), Udaipur with the active participation of HZL(U) who will also partially finance the programme and be responsible to commission, maintain & operate the pilot plant during the trials for evaluation and optimisation of the process to generate parameters for techno-economic studies. R&D efforts were continued to optimise the process routes being pursued at National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur; RRL(B) and HZL(U).