An additional $4 million is expected upon the closing of a silver asset sale transaction with Kuya Silver, also announced in December.
“The commencement of pre-construction activities brings us one step closer to our vision of producing the world’s most sustainable cobalt. Our strong treasury allows us to build a project team and commence procurement and detailed engineering while we complete a debt financing process. 2021 is all about execution,” Trent Mell, president and CEO of First Cobalt, said in a release.
In addition to assembling an owner’s team to execute the refinery re-start, discussions for the debt component of the project capital are underway. The initial capital, based on a May 2020 feasibility, is pegged at US$56 million.
The First Cobalt refinery operated between 1996 and 2015. The company estimates an 18-month commissioning period for the facility, with first cobalt production expected in the second half of 2022. According to the feasibility, the facility could generate over 5,000 tonnes of cobalt annually (as 25,000 tonnes of cobalt sulphate), which would represent approximately 5% of the global market.
Earlier this month, First Cobalt secured cobalt feed for 90% of its refinery capacity.
