TORONTO, July 22, 2021 /CNW/ - First Cobalt Corp.
(TSXV: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (the "Company") announced that it
has successfully extracted nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese,
lithium and graphite from a "black mass" product recovered from
recycled batteries. Black mass represents the main chemical
composition of the battery and is obtained after removal of the
mechanical housing of the battery. Work is now underway to leverage
the existing operating permits, flow sheet and equipment at First
Cobalt's Canadian hydrometallurgical refinery to become the first
facility to recycle battery materials on a large scale for
reintroduction into the electric vehicle battery supply chain.
Highlights
- To date there is no operating facility in North America that can recover each of nickel,
cobalt, copper, lithium, graphite and manganese from black mass on
a large scale, continuous production basis.
- The Company's refinery in Canada has existing refining capabilities
(size and scale) to produce separate products containing nickel,
cobalt, copper and manganese. With flow sheet modifications,
recovery of lithium and graphite can also be achieved.
- Metallurgical test work was conducted by SGS Labs on black mass
material provided by upstream battery recyclers in the U.S. and
Europe. Bench scale testing has
demonstrated expected extractions of lithium, nickel, cobalt,
copper, manganese and graphite.
- A global engineering firm has been retained to study the
leaching of black mass within the existing refinery to produce
nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese products using the existing
flowsheet and to produce lithium and graphite products with
recommended modifications.
- Completion of the engineering study is expected in Q4. Upon
successful completion of the study, the Company intends to process
black mass at the refinery facility on a pilot basis.
- First Cobalt's near-term strategy is to leverage its existing
processing facilities to process black mass and recover payable
metals. Longer term, the Company intends to produce "battery grade"
materials for reintroduction into the electric vehicle supply
chain.
- Discussions have been initiated with provincial regulatory
authorities to permit the processing of black mass at its
facility.
"Demonstrating our ability to recycle lithium-ion batteries
is an important step in our journey to be the most sustainable
producer of battery materials," said President & CEO
Trent Mell. "There are many
producers of black mass in the western world but few
environmentally friendly options to then refine the product into
battery grade material given the capital expenditure required and
the permitting timeline associated with building a
hydrometallurgical facility such as ours. We intend to capitalize
on this first-mover advantage and leverage our position as an
ultra-low carbon operation."
First Cobalt continues to study the treatment and recovery of
battery metals known as "black mass" from recycled EV and consumer
electronics batteries. When lithium-ion batteries reach their
end-of-life, they are dismantled and the part containing the
electrodes are crushed or shredded to produce a powdery fraction
referred to as black mass. This mechanical process then requires a
refining solution to separate and recover each of the metals. In a
world increasingly focused on ESG, the superior approach is to use
a hydrometallurgical refining process rather than pyrometallurgy,
due in part to the lower carbon footprint and potential to recover
a significant portion of the battery chemical components. First
Cobalt is well positioned to serve this growing market through its
Canadian facility
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 modifying the flow sheet under a Phase 1 expansion 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. Under
a Phase 2 expansion, the refinery is expected to process black mass
feed from recycled batteries. Longer term, the Company's vision is
to establish a Battery Park that would include large scale
production of nickel sulfate and the co-location of a battery
precursor manufacturer.
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.
Idaho Land Acquisition Update
On May 11, 2021, the Company
announced the acquisition of the West Fork Property in Idaho from DG Resource Management. The
Company wishes to clarify that the total compensation paid was
$50,000 in cash and 225,000 (not
250,000 as previously announced) common shares of First Cobalt.
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.