Toronto, Ontario – First Cobalt Corp has gotten the go-ahead to begin the construction of North America’s first cobalt refinery, thanks to a $10 million round of loans and grants from the government.
This move aims to put First Cobalt into a position to ease North America’s reliance on China for the cobalt that is required for lithium-ion batteries.
As of the closure of the company’s deal with provincial and federal governments, Canada will provide a $5 million interest-free loan to First Cobalt while the Ontario government will give the company a $5 million non-repayable grant.
This funding will help First Cobalt restart their facility which the company aims to be North America’s sole source of refined cobalt and located within 600 kilometres of the U.S. border.
At its peak the refinery will produce 25,000 tonnes of battery-grade cobalt sulfate annually, which represent 5 percent of the global market for refined cobalt, First Cobalt said.
