TORONTO, Feb. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - First Cobalt Corp.
(TSXV: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (the "Company") today announced the
appointment of Regan Watts as
Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Dr. George Puvvada as its Refinery Technical
Manager.
Regan Watts is a seasoned and
entrepreneurial executive with more than 20 years of public and
private sector experience in corporate communications, strategy,
innovation, and regulatory and corporate affairs. His experience
spans various industries including infrastructure, transportation,
industrial manufacturing, information technology and financial
services.
Mr. Watts has provided services to First Cobalt since 2019 and
has been instrumental in helping communicate First Cobalt's
priorities and plans to the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. In his executive capacity, Mr. Watts
will add U.S. corporate and regulatory affairs to his
responsibilities. First Cobalt has ambitious plans for its Iron
Creek copper-cobalt project in Idaho, which align with President Biden's
US$2 trillion green energy plan.
Prior to working with First Cobalt, Mr. Watts was a member of
IBM Canada's senior leadership group, heading the Innovation,
Citizenship and Government Affairs team. Prior to IBM, he served on
the Executive Committee of Lafarge Canada, where he led corporate
communications, public and regulatory affairs, and corporate social
responsibility. Mr. Watts had an extensive career in public
service, serving in leadership roles in the Government of
Canada across four federal
departments. From 2006 to 2012, he served at Finance Canada,
Transport Canada, Health Canada, and Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Canada. In 2012, Mr. Watts was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his public service to
Canada. A published author, Mr.
Watts holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University and is President of consultancy
Fratton Park Inc.
Dr. George Puvvada, P.Eng., PMP,
PhD, is a highly qualified metallurgist with over 25 years of
industrial metallurgical experience. Over his career, Dr.
Puvvada built a reputation developing flowsheets for difficult ores
and delivered projects for some of the world's largest mining
companies, including Vale, Xstrata and Barrick Gold.
As First Cobalt's Technical Manager, Dr. Puvvada will be a key
member of the senior leadership team tasked with executing on First
Cobalt's refinery expansion and commissioning strategy and
qualifying the Company's cobalt sulfate product for inclusion in
Western automaker electric vehicle batteries.
Prior to joining First Cobalt, Dr. Puvvada was employed with
Northern Sun Mining, overseeing all aspects of feed evaluation,
metallurgical processing, lab supervision and project development.
He previously spent several years as a metallurgist at the Peko
Mine in Australia, testing,
developing and piloting for the recovery of base and precious
metals. Dr. Puvvada has also worked with some of the world's
leading metallurgical and engineering firms, including SNC Lavalin,
Tetra Tech, Ortech and SGS. Dr. Puvvada holds a Bachelor's Degree
in Mineral Processing from Andhra University in India and a PhD in Extractive Metallurgy from
the University of New South Wales in
Australia.
Trent Mell, President & Chief
Executive Officer, commented:
"As the Company enters a growth phase with the expansion and
recommissioning of our North American cobalt refinery, we mirror
that with the growth and strength of our team. Last year's
government investment was transformational and validated our
strategic plan. In his new role, Mr. Watts will be setting his
sights on opportunities with the new administration in the United States, while also continuing to
lead First Cobalt's regulatory efforts in Canada.
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Puvvada to the team. His
experience with hydrometallurgical flow sheets will be instrumental
to the successful execution of the North
America's first and only producer of battery grade
cobalt.
We will continue to build out our team as we power a better
path forward and work towards a greener future."
About First Cobalt
First Cobalt owns North
America's only permitted primary cobalt refinery. Cobalt
refining is a critical component to the development and
manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles and forms a
foundational piece of the next generation of the North American
auto sector and other electrified consumer and industrial
applications. First Cobalt owns the Iron Creek cobalt project in
Idaho, USA and controls
significant silver and cobalt assets in the Canadian Cobalt Camp,
including more than 50 past producing mines.
On behalf of First Cobalt Corp.
Trent Mell
President & 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 First Cobalt, filed on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com. Although First Cobalt 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, First Cobalt disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE First Cobalt Corp.