TORONTO, June 14, 2018 /CNW/ - Cobalt Blockchain Inc.
("COBC" or the "Company") (TSXV:COBC) is pleased to announce that
it has signed a letter of intent for a US$10
million revolving trade finance facility with United Bank
for Africa Plc ("UBA"), a leading pan-African financial services
group with operations in 20 African countries and offices in three
global financial centers of London, Paris
and New York.
COBC will be using the trade finance facility for the purposes
of purchasing cobalt concentrates once the terms of have been
finalized and a definitive agreement is in place. The initial
funds will be directed towards the purchase of cobalt concentrates
(1% minimum, 3-4% average cobalt) from a key mining cooperative in
the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC).
This supply agreement, previously announced on April 6, 2018, guarantees COBC a supply of cobalt
concentrate of 40,000 tonnes per annum.
COBC will be purchasing the cobalt concentrate from the DRC
cooperative under a framework compliant with the guidelines of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for
responsible mineral sourcing.
The Company has been working with Better Chain S.L. and DLT Labs
to develop this framework over the past several months. COBC's
platform is based on an autonomous due diligence (ADD) protocol,
and a custom Hyperledger/Ethereum blockchain.
COBC's platform is expected to be the world's first operational
blockchain mineral provenance system for cobalt, ensuring
transparency that any cobalt traded through COBC is
ethically-sourced.
Further details of the above initiatives will be presented at
the DRC Mining Week Conference on June
13-15, in Lubumbashi, DRC, and at Mining Investment North
America on June 14-15, in
Toronto, Canada.
COBC is the intermediary in the supply chain between local
artisanal and small-scale mines (ASM) and international
buyers. The Company creates value based on having access to
local supply agreements, providing certification of mineral
provenance, in-country processing and selling to international
buyers.
About Cobalt Blockchain Inc.
Cobalt Blockchain Inc. (TSXV:COBC) is a Canadian resource
company expanding its exploration and development business to
include cobalt assets in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). COBC is the first mining
and mineral trade company set up specifically to procure cobalt in
compliance with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) due diligence framework. Leveraging its
experience with existing supply chain due diligence initiatives,
COBC is working with partners to develop a blockchain-based
reporting platform to provide greater certainty of provenance and
further assurance that all minerals procured are ethically-sourced.
Senior management have over twelve years of experience working in
the DRC and a proven international track record in exploration
success and the trading of certified conflict-free,
child-labour-free minerals.
About United Bank for Africa Plc
United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is a leading financial services
group in sub-Saharan Africa, with presence in 20 African countries,
as well as the United Kingdom,
the United States of America and
France. UBA has emerged as a pan-African provider of
banking and other financial services to 10 million customers
globally, through one of the most diverse service channels in
sub-Sahara Africa, with 632 business offices, 1,750 automated
teller machines (ATMs), some 13,500 point-of-sale (PoS) terminals,
and a robust online and mobile banking platform. The shares
of UBA are publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and
the Bank has a well-diversified shareholder base, including foreign
and local institutional investors as well as individual
shareholders.
Forward-Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other
than statements of historical facts, that address future
production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation
activities and events or developments that the Company expects are
forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the
expectations expressed in such statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the statements. There are certain factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements. These include market prices,
exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of
capital and financing, and general economic, market or business
conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company,
investors should review registered filings at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Cobalt Blockchain Inc.