TORONTO, March 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Electra Battery
Materials Corporation (TSXV: ELBM) (OTCQX:
ELBMF) ("Electra") today provided an update on the
construction of North America's
only battery grade cobalt refinery, announcing that it has
commenced foundation work of the solvent extraction plant. The
project remains on budget and on schedule for a December 2022 commissioning.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Health, safety and the environment remain a top priority, with
zero lost time incidents and no reportable spills or exceedances at
the refinery site.
- Project control budget remains at US$67
million (C$84 million), and
commissioning is on schedule for December
2022.
- Construction of the new solvent extraction building advanced
with concrete pouring for the foundations. Late last year all
earthworks for the plant were completed. The pre-engineered
building is expected to be completed by the end of April.
- All long lead equipment orders have been placed.
- Brownfield mechanical equipment verification is 77% complete
with all major existing equipment having been tested. The existing
mechanical/electrical and instrumentation equipment have
demonstrated excellent performance when test run, with few upgrades
required.
- In the coming weeks, the build out of the cobalt crystallizer
circuit will begin, with the arrival of key equipment on site
between April and June.
"Our team has been focused on both the recommissioning of our
existing refinery equipment and preparing the site for the
construction of the new solvent extraction and crystallizer plant
facilities," said Mark Trevisiol,
Vice President, Project Development. "These are important
milestones and a credit to our project owner's team and our
consultants who continue to demonstrate a disciplined commitment to
executing this project. With no lost-time incidents at site, we
continue to stress our values on health and safety, which speaks to
the commitment of our team to delivering the project with zero lost
time incidents in parallel with being on time and on budget."
"Canada is becoming a key
player in the midstream of the North American electric vehicle
supply chain," said Trent Mell, CEO.
"Recent investment decisions by some of the largest players in the
EV industry continue to validate our early-mover strategy. While
our team continues to deliver on the recommissioning of the
refinery, we are aggressively pursuing commercial partnerships and
growth opportunities to deliver value to shareholders."
Electra is planning to build a fully integrated battery
materials park, leveraging the Company's hydrometallurgical
refinery asset. Electra plans to build a Battery Materials Park
hosting cobalt and nickel sulfate production plants, a large-scale
lithium-ion battery recycling facility, and a battery precursor
materials partnership, which will support North American and
European electric vehicle production.
Existing supply chain pressures have been further exacerbated
over the past month by the resurgence of COVID in China and the Russian war in the Ukraine. Early in the procurement process,
Electra made the strategic decision to order long lead items from
jurisdictions deemed less likely to experience supply chain
interruptions. This has proven to be a sound strategy, as our
current timeline remains in line with the original schedule. While
this was difficult to predict, this decision has yielded positive
results, as management believes that delivery of major equipment to
the refinery is largely on schedule. At this time, the surge in
commodity prices is not forecasted to impact total capital costs
but management is monitoring the situation closely and believes
that the impact, if any, should be minimal.
Electra's business strategy is to produce sufficient battery
materials for up to 1.5 million electric vehicles annually. The
Company's cobalt sulfate facility is on schedule to start
commissioning in Q4 2022. The cobalt plant will be the first in
Electra's four-phase Battery Materials Park project. In the coming
years, Electra intends to build further processing capacity for
nickel sulfate, recycling of primary and secondary battery scrap
materials and precursor production.
About Electra Battery Materials
Electra is planning to build a fully integrated, localized and
environmentally sustainable battery materials park. Leveraging the
Company's own mining assets and business partners, the Electra
Battery Materials Park is expected to host cobalt and nickel
sulfate production plants, a large-scale lithium-ion battery
recycling facility, and battery precursor materials production,
which will serve both North American and global customers. Electra
also owns the advanced exploration-stage Iron Creek cobalt-copper
project in Idaho, USA. Electra
Battery Materials is an integral part of the North American battery
supply chain, providing low-carbon, sustainable and traceable raw
materials for the region's fast growing electric vehicle
industry.
On behalf of Electra Battery Materials.
Trent Mell
Chief Executive Officer
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 Electra Battery Materials
Corporation, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Electra
Battery Materials Corporation 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, Electra Battery Materials Corporation 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 Electra Battery Materials Corporation