Name of the Project
First Cobalt refinery recommissioning project.

Location
Ontario, Canada.

Project Owner/s
First Cobalt.

First Cobalt and Glencore signed a memorandum of understanding on May 21, 2019, outlining the terms of a potential partnership to produce refined cobalt for
the North American market.

Project Description
The First Cobalt refinery is the only permitted primary cobalt refinery in North America.

The project entails the recommissioning of the First Cobalt refinery in a phased approach.

Phase1 includes a definitive feasibility study (DFS) to assess the suitability of the First Cobalt refinery to treat Glencore material under a long-term supply agreement to produce cobalt sulphate for the North American electric vehicle (EV) market.

Phase 2 envisages the commissioning of the refinery at a feed rate of 12 t/d in 2020 to produce a battery-grade cobalt sulphate for prequalification for the EV supply chain. This will be subject to the results of additional studies and an economic analysis to be completed during Phase 1.

Phase 3 involves an expansion of the refinery to a 55 t/d feed rate by 2021 using the current site infrastructure and buildings. An Ausenco scoping study previously estimated that, if the First Cobalt refinery operated at 55 t/d, it could produce 5 000 t/y of contained cobalt in sulphate assuming cobalt hydroxide feed grading 30% cobalt.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Total capital investment under the three phases is estimated at $45-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The refinery is expected to be recommissioned in late 2020.

Latest Developments
First Cobalt is in advanced talks with Canada's Ontario province to finance the $37.5-million required to restart its idled cobalt refinery, president and CEO Trent Mell has said.

If successful, such a deal will reduce First Cobalt's funding reliance on Glencore, which in July agreed to extend $45-million in loans to develop the project in stages.

"We're trying to bring our own sources of capital to the table, and we're talking to the Ontario government to see if there's an opportunity to . . . get some kind of support under the umbrella of the Ontario and North American automotive supply chain," he has said.

Mell has not indicated what form that might take, but has said loan guarantees are a possibility. First Cobalt has also tapped Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to find potential partners for the project, although those discussions are at an earlier stage.

First Cobalt has said it will decide whether to restart the plant in the first quarter next year, with initial throughput of 12 t/d targeted for late 2020.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
First Cobalt, tel +1416900 3891 or email info@firstcobalt.com.