TORONTO, May 17, 2021 /CNW/ - First Cobalt
Corp. (TSXV: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (the "Company") today provided
an update on the expansion and recommissioning of its low carbon
footprint hydrometallurgical refinery north of Toronto. The Company remains on schedule to
recommission the facility in the fourth quarter of 2022, at which
time it will become the only refiner of battery-grade cobalt
sulfate in North America and the
second largest outside of China.
Highlights
- Contract to construct the cobalt sulfate crystallizer has been
awarded and will be built in the United
States
- New Permit to Take Water issued by the Ontario Ministry of the
Environment, Conservation and Parks, allowing the project team to
mobilize to site to restore power to the refinery complex and
prepare for upcoming construction activities
- First Cobalt's owner's team continues to grow with the addition
of a Site Services Superintendent and Environmental
Superintendent
- Scholarship program launched to support local indigenous and
non-indigenous high school graduates pursuing higher education
- Lender discussions for a US$45
million debt facility are advancing, supplemented by
C$18 million in current working
capital plus an additional C$10
million investment by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario towards the refinery capital
costs
"Thanks to the focus and hard work of the First Cobalt team,
we continue to execute our strategic business plan and remain on
schedule for 2022 commissioning," said Mark
Trevisiol, Vice President, Project Development. "Ordering
the cobalt crystallizer in a timely manner was an important step on
the construction schedule and the focus now shifts to the solvent
extraction vendor package.
"We are grateful for the support and enthusiasm within the
community and remain committed to hiring a local leadership team
and maximizing economic opportunities for the local and regional
economy."
The cobalt sulfate crystallizer will be built in the United States and shipped to site in less
than 44 weeks. This equipment is the last step in First
Cobalt's hydrometallurgical refining process and takes cobalt
concentrated in an aqueous solution into a powder called cobalt
sulfate.
A crystallizer consists of various mechanical components
including heat exchangers, pumps, piping, dryers and evaporators.
They are assembled in a manner to allow for optimum processing and
maintenance conditions. This unit will span several operating
floors within the processing plant and will be the tallest
structure on site (Figure 1).
The Company and Ausenco Engineering Canada are now working on
detailed engineering and procurement of the last two long lead
equipment orders: solvent extraction tanks and filters.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservations and Parks
issued a new Permit to Take Water from Lake Timiskaming on
May 10 covering potable water supply
and industrial use. Two other permit applications for air and noise
and industrial sewage are expected in the coming months.
Over the next few weeks, crews will mobilize to site to restore
power to the refinery, turn on water pumps, complete geotechnical
drilling for new buildings and refurbish existing offices.
Two additional employees have been hired to join the First
Cobalt owner's team working alongside EPCM contractor Ausenco
Engineering Canada. Hayden Fiset
joined as Site Services Superintendent and Cristy Knott as Environmental Superintendent.
Both live in the local community and are expected to transition to
the operations leadership team once the refinery has been
commissioned. Additional team members will be recruited during the
coming months.
First Cobalt is committed to an ongoing dialogue with local
stakeholders, First Nations and indigenous communities that will
continue through permitting and construction and into operations.
First Cobalt has held three public open houses for the local
community within the last six months as well as 24 other
consultation meetings. The meetings provide an open forum with all
stakeholders to discuss environmental matters and economic
development opportunities.
As part of our commitment to support our local community, First
Cobalt established the First Cobalt Excellence Award for the
2021 graduating classes of four local high schools: Englehart High
School, Timiskaming District Secondary School, Kirkland Lake
District Composite School and École Secondaire Catholique Sainte Marie. Each
$1,000 award will be made to a
deserving indigenous or non-indigenous student who has demonstrated
a commitment to learning and an intention to pursue a
post-secondary education.
The planned US$45 million debt
facility is in the due diligence phase and combined with current
working capital and committed Government investments, is expected
to supply the remaining funding required to bring the project to
completion.
Refinery Overview
The First Cobalt Refinery is a hydrometallurgical refinery
located north of Toronto, in the
community of Temiskaming Shores. The facility operated from 1996 to
2015, producing cobalt, nickel, copper and silver products. The
Company is expanding the facility and modifying the flow sheet to
refine third party cobalt hydroxide intermediate product into a
high purity, battery grade cobalt sulfate suitable for the electric
vehicle market. Today, approximately 80% of cobalt sulfate is made
in China and there is no
production in North America. In
December 2020, the Government of
Canada and the Government of
Ontario announced a joint
$10 million investment in the First
Cobalt Refinery to help accelerate commissioning and expansion.
About First Cobalt
First Cobalt's mission is to be the most sustainable producer of
battery materials. In 2022, the Company plans to commission
North America's only cobalt
sulfate refinery, a critical asset in the development and
manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles. First Cobalt also
owns the Iron Creek cobalt-copper project in Idaho, USA as well as several significant
cobalt and silver properties in the Canadian Cobalt Camp.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy
of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking
statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws and
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are
forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans",
"expects', "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or
variations of such words, or statements that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be
achieved". Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties
and other factors that could cause actual results, performance and
opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are set
forth in the management discussion and analysis and other
disclosures of risk factors for First Cobalt, filed on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com. Although First Cobalt believes that the
information and assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking
statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on
these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news
release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur
in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by
applicable law, First Cobalt disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE First Cobalt Corp.