TORONTO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - First Cobalt Corp is in
advanced talks with Canada's Ontario province to finance the
$37.5 million required to restart its idled cobalt refinery,
President and Chief Executive Officer Trent Mell said in an
interview on Tuesday.
If successful, such a deal would reduce First Cobalt's
funding reliance on Glencore Plc, which in July agreed
to extend $45 million in loans to develop the project in stages.
The plant, located about 600 kilometres (373 miles) from the
U.S. border in Cobalt, Ontario, would be the sole North American
producer of refined cobalt for the electric vehicle market and
lessen dependence of U.S. end-users on China, where most of the
world’s cobalt refining capacity is located.
"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," Mell said.
He did not indicate what form that might take but said loan
guarantees are a possibility. First Cobalt has also tapped
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to find potential
partners for the project, Mell said, although those discussions
are at an earlier stage.
“I think everything’s on the table for us right now," Mell
said.
Representatives for Ontario's Ministry of Economic
Development, Job Creation and Trade and its Ministry of Energy,
Northern Development and Mines did not immediately respond to an
email.
CIBC did not respond to a request for comment.
Canada, the United States, Australia and other western
countries are keen to reduce their reliance on top supplier
China for rare earths, a group of minerals used in everything
from smart phones to electric vehicles.
First Cobalt has said it will decide whether to restart the
plant in the first quarter next year, with initial throughput of
12 tonnes per day targeted for late 2020.
(Reporting by Jeff Lewis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Glencore (GLEN)
