COQUITLAM, BC, Jan. 15, 2021 /CNW/ - Canada Silver Cobalt Works
Inc. (TSXV: CCW) (OTCQB: CCWOF) (Frankfurt: 4T9B) (the "Company" or "Canada
Silver Cobalt") is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement
with SGS Canada Inc. to proceed with the Re-2OX pilot plant. This
critical step will allow the Company to accelerate the production
of client-specific battery metals for the North American electric
vehicle (EV) market, a key strategy for the Company.
Highlights of SGS Work
- Bench-scale optimization program
- Pilot plant flowsheet design
- Stage 1 Pilot plant, build and operate at Lakefield, Ontario
In 2018 SGS Lakefield used the environmentally friendly Re-2OX
process to recover 99% of the cobalt and 81% of the nickel from a
composite of gravity concentrates while also removing 99% of the
arsenic, a long-time issue in this cobalt-rich Cobalt Camp. The
gravity concentrates graded 9.25% cobalt, 5.65% nickel, 49.9%
arsenic and 9,250 g/t silver. The Re-2OX process was used at SGS to
produce a technical grade cobalt sulphate hexahydrate at 22.6%,
directly from cobalt-rich gravity concentrates produced from the
first level of the Castle mine. The 22.6% cobalt sulphate compound
exceeded the specifications required by battery manufacturers at
that time.
The plan calls for SGS to design and build the Stage 1 pilot
plant at Lakefield, Ontario.
Feed material for this test work will come from the underground at
the Castle mine, the high-grade silver discovery Robinson Zone,
Beaver and Castle tailings, recycled batteries, and from newly
acquired properties.
Temiskaming Testing Laboratories (TTL) is an analytical facility
the Company acquired in 2020 and, as a prominent Silver-Cobalt
explorer in the region, we are taking all the necessary steps to
become a producer of both silver and battery metals for the EV
market, while fully developing all of our assets. Feed material
will be North American, with production specifically designed for
the North American EV market.
Management sees the Re-2OX pilot plant as a long-term strategic
advantage that will facilitate the production of battery metals for
the EV market for many years. More importantly, production
can be certified as ethically sourced within stringent Canadian
environmental standards and traceable verification of a closed-loop
supply chain that will ensure this product is highly sought-after
and could even possibly garner a premium due to source
verification. The cobalt ore will come from the Cobalt region
including from the Castle property currently being aggressively
drilled for high-grade silver and battery metals.
Frank Basa, CEO and Director
commented, "back in the day, in the Cobalt Camp, the approach was
simple; they followed the high-grade silver veins and discarded all
the other material which was in fact battery metals that graded
over 10 percent cobalt equivalent in base metals. The
economics of harvesting both the base metals and silver, then
adding value by processing it into premium EV battery metals will
provide the Company with two solid income streams and we are
excited for the future as the High-Grade and Technology Leader in
Canada's Silver Cobalt
Heartland."
The Company has also retained the services of ONSite Labs as an
independent contract operator of the TTL facility. ONSite are
commercial analytical lab operators. Over the next four months,
ONSite Labs will process samples to prove the ability to produce
viable data with the highest standards of quality control. It
is anticipated that the lab will be fully operational and open for
business by the summer of 2021. CEO Frank Basa notes that "adding ONSite is a huge
plus and turn-around times should be much shorter than what we have
been experiencing. The key here is that although they will be
operating in TTL, they will be independent which allows us to use
their services in an arms-length relationship."
Although electric vehicles have been increasingly in the news
and can been seen on the roads with increasing regularity, the
reality is that the EV megatrend is just starting. Each month
another country, state, province or jurisdiction goes on record
stating the date after which it will no longer permit the sale of
combustion engine powered vehicles. EV industry analysts have noted
that once the price for a new electric vehicle is equal to a new
gas-powered vehicle, adoption will go fully mainstream and demand
will go vertical. The main source of power for EV's continues
to be Lithium-Ion batteries where cobalt's role in the chemistry
ensures stability and enhances range.
Cobalt is a strategic metal due to its wide range of
applications aside from battery technology which includes medical
devices but is also important in defence and military applications.
North America is in dire need of a
secure supply, especially the United States. This deficiency
and unintended reliance on external sources fully came to light
when, on January 9, 2020, a joint
press release between the United
States and Canada was
issued titled "Canada and the U.S.
Finalize Joint Action Plan on Critical Metals
Collaboration".
There are other battery metals that will also be in demand such as
nickel and manganese, so the Company has been staking additional
properties that have the potential for these and other battery
metals. Several properties have either been acquired or staked
mainly in Quebec with the goal of
creating a portfolio of properties.
Location
The Castle Property is 15 km east of Pan American Silver's Juby
gold deposit, 30 km due south of Alamos Gold's Young-Davidson mine, 75 km southwest of Kirkland Lake Gold's Macassa Complex, and 100 km
southeast of new gold discoveries in the Timmins West
area.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release was prepared
under the supervision of Mr. Matthew
Halliday, P.Geo., (APGO) President of Canada Silver Cobalt
Works Inc., a qualified person in accordance with National
Instrument 43-101.
About Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc.
Canada Silver Cobalt Works released the first-ever resource in
the Gowganda Camp and greater Cobalt Camp. In May 2020. A
total of 7.56 million ounces of silver in Inferred
resources comprising very high-grade silver (8,582 grams per
tonne un-cut or 250.2 oz/ton) in 27,400 tonnes of material
from two sections (1A and 1B) of the
Robinson Zone beginning at a vertical depth of approximately 400
meters. The discovery remains open in all directions (1A and
1B are approximately 800 meters from
the east-trending Capitol Mine workings) (mineral resources
that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic
viability) (refer to Canada Silver Cobalt Works Press Release
May 28, 2020. Report reference:
Rachidi, M. 2020, NI 43-101 Technical Report Mineral
Resource Estimate for Castle East, Robinson Zone, Ontario, Canada, with an effective date of
May 28, 2020 and a signature date of
July 13, 2020.
Canada Silver Cobalt's flagship Castle mine and 78 sq. km Castle
Property features strong exploration upside for silver, cobalt,
nickel, gold and copper in the prolific past producing Gowganda high-grade Silver District of
Northern Ontario. With underground
access at Castle, a pilot plant to produce cobalt-rich gravity
concentrates on site, a processing facility (TTL Laboratories) in
the town of Cobalt, and a proprietary hydrometallurgical process
known as Re-2OX for the creation of technical grade cobalt sulphate
as well as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) formulations, Canada
Silver Cobalt is strategically positioned to become a Canadian
leader in the silver-cobalt space.
"Frank J. Basa"
Frank J. Basa, P. Eng.
Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. This news release may contain
forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments
regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs,
geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential
mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address
future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks
and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those
currently anticipated in such statements.
SOURCE Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc.