Missouri Cobalt Nears Completion Of Key Facility, Advancing Its Leadership Goal In Domestic Battery-Grade Cobalt And Nickel
ST. LOUIS, June 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Missouri Cobalt, LLC (the "Company" or "Missouri Cobalt") announced today it is in the final construction stage of a new hydrometallurgical facility which will allow the Company to begin production of large-scale quantities of battery-grade cobalt and nickel. This milestone represents significant progress toward the Company's objective to become the leading North American supplier of battery-grade cobalt and nickel, and the only company to process in the United States. Missouri Cobalt management believes this goal can be realized over the next two years as the new facility will quadruple current run-rate production volumes.
Missouri Cobalt is the only vertically integrated cobalt producer in North America and is strategically positioned to supply clean, domestic and ethically sourced battery metals required to meet the unprecedented demand for electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries. The Company previously demonstrated its ability to consistently produce high-grade cobalt utilizing its pilot hydrometallurgical facility in Earth City, MO, which has been operational since 2020. It has been producing a cobalt-nickel-copper concentrate at its Fredericktown, MO facility since 2019.
Having completed an extensive drilling program that confirmed significant geological upside and expanded exploration potential, the Company has enlisted international and local experts for the development of its underground mine. Existing tailings and underground deposits are expected to yield total run-rate production of at least 5 Mlbs per annum of cobalt, 6 Mlbs per annum of nickel and 22 Mlbs per annum of copper by 2023.
"The successful commissioning and operation of our onsite concentrator and hydrometallurgical pilot plant provided the start-to-finish proof of concept required to advance the next phases of our strategic plan," said Stacy W. Hastie, CEO of Missouri Cobalt. "Our short-term focus now is on scaling our proprietary, environmentally-friendly processing technology to produce battery-grade cobalt, nickel, and copper at an industrial scale in order to position ourselves as the leading battery minerals producer in North America."
Additionally, the Company intends to leverage its proven hydrometallurgical technology and is projecting robust near-term topline growth by capitalizing on the significant upside of its own resource base, as well as scaling production volumes by expanding into battery recycling and processing of third-party material beyond the expected 2023 run-rate.
"In order to truly maximize the environmental and societal benefits of green energy, the world's leading battery manufacturers will continue to turn to reliable, traceable, and ethically-sourced cobalt. As the only vertically integrated cobalt producer in North America, Missouri Cobalt is positioned to play a crucial role in the advancement of the battery revolution over the coming years." said Willy R. Strothotte, former Chairman and CEO of Glencore and current member of Missouri Cobalt's Board of Directors.
Goldman Sachs has been retained to assist with evaluating various strategic and financing alternatives in order to accelerate the Company's strategic plan. Missouri Cobalt remains committed to addressing the pressing needs of the renewable energy industry, throughout and following this strategic review.
ABOUT MISSOURI COBALT, LLC
Missouri Cobalt operates the Madison Mine in Missouri, which holds an estimated 72 million pounds of recoverable cobalt, likely making it the largest such reserve in North America. The site also contains an estimated 105 million pounds of nickel and 103 million pounds of copper. As the only vertically integrated cobalt producer in North America, the Company is committed to reliable, on-time delivery of clean, ethical, and domestically produced cobalt that will support the advancement of America's energy resources. The Company was formed in 2018 in response to tremendous momentum in the high-performance battery market, driven by electric vehicle makers. These high-performance batteries require significant cobalt resources, which Missouri Cobalt is uniquely positioned to supply.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future run-rate production, topline growth, production volumes, and possible strategic and financing transactions, are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect our views as of the date of this press release about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, changes in the demand for electric vehicles, changes in the raw materials and technology for manufacturing rechargeable batteries, and changes in mineral exploration, discoveries, and extraction methods and costs. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to the Company on the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
SOURCE Missouri Cobalt
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