TORONTO, April 6, 2022 /CNW/ - Electra Battery
Materials Corporation (TSXV: ELBM) (OTCQX:
ELBMF) ("Electra") today announced an offtake agreement for
nickel and cobalt produced from a battery recycling plant that it
expects to commission in 2023 at its Battery Materials Park north
of Toronto. Under the agreement,
Glencore AG will purchase the nickel and cobalt products until the
end of 2024 on market-based terms.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Offtake contract covers 2023-2024 production of nickel and
cobalt from refining of black mass feed generated from lithium-ion
batteries. Offtake contracts for lithium, copper and graphite are
under discussion with other parties.
- Electra plans to operate a battery recycling demonstration
plant in 2022 using existing equipment at a cost of C$3 million and commission the commercial plant
in 2023.
- Electra's hydrometallurgical refinery is expected to provide
higher yields at a lower cost and at significantly lower energy
intensity, compared to traditional facilities.
- Electra's refinery is 100% powered by clean, hydroelectric
power, resulting in nearly zero greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions.
"The demand for recycled battery materials is very strong but
there is limited refining capacity in North America today to treat black mass with a
hydrometallurgical process – the preferred route due to high metal
recoveries and near zero GHG emissions," said Trent Mell, CEO. "Electra expects to be one of
the first such refiners, leveraging its permitted site north of
Toronto and approximately
C$100 million of existing
infrastructure and equipment.
"This is another step in de-risking Electra's Battery Materials
Park project. By securing an offtake for our recycled nickel and
cobalt production at market rates, we can now continue to focus on
construction and operational readiness for Phase 1 and Phase
2."
Electra's battery recycling strategy is the second of a
four-phase development plan for an integrated battery materials
park in Canada that will recycle
lithium batteries, produce cobalt and nickel from primary
feeds and then send the material to a battery cathode
precursor manufacturer that would co-locate within the same
industrial park. Commissioning of North
America's only cobalt sulfate refinery is the first phase,
which is scheduled to be commissioned in December 2022.
Electra's strategy is to partner with third parties who collect
spent batteries and shred the battery cell electrodes into a
metal-rich powder known as "black mass." Electra has established
relationships with more than 30 black mass producers and expects to
work with up to four providers to supply feed to its refinery. The
supply chain bottleneck in North
America plays well to Electra's core competitive advantage,
which is its existing hydrometallurgical refining capacity.
The first recycling module (Module 1) is expected to produce
more than 2,000 metric tonnes per annum of mixed hydroxide
precipitate from approximately 4,500 tonnes of black mass. This is
the equivalent to recycling batteries from more than 20,000 full
electric vehicles per year, or 80,000 plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles. Module 1 is one of several modules that are expected to
be constructed over the next decade, as Electra's recycling
capacity grows with market demand for processing of black mass.
Electra's long-term objective is to feed cobalt and nickel
content in MHP into its own cobalt and nickel sulfate circuits.
Glencore's Nikkelverk refinery in Norway represents a near-term and low-carbon
solution to a circular economy until such time as Electra has
completed its Phase 3 construction of a nickel sulfate plant.
The commercial relationship with Glencore
is a foundational step that could lead to further
collaboration within the North American recycling
market. Glencore is already one of the largest processors of
black mass, treating a large portion of black mass
produced in North America and
Europe at its Sudbury smelter.
The Electra-Glencore recycling collaboration
offers an additional solution to North America's
growing battery industry.
Electra's Recycling Capabilities
Engineering studies confirmed that Electra's existing refinery
complex has the infrastructure and equipment to process a bulk
sample of material on a full production scale basis in 2022 with an
initial investment of under C$3
million.
Electra will grow its recycling business in a staged, modular
fashion, initially targeting black mass from consumer electronics
and subsequently targeting primary battery scrap material from
North American electric vehicle cell manufacturers.
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.
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SOURCE Electra Battery Materials Corporation