First Cobalt more than doubles holdings in Idaho

Cecilia Jamasmie | May 25, 2021 | 3:52 am Battery Metals Canada Cobalt

Trent Mell outside the Iron Creek cobalt deposit in Idaho. (Image courtesy of First Cobalt.)

Canada’s First Cobalt (TSX-V:FCC) has more than doubled its holdings in Idaho, US, around what it describes as one of the few primary cobalt deposits in the world, its Iron Creek project.

The expansion, the second in a month, increases the company’s land position to over 1,820 hectares due to an earn-in agreement into Phoenix Copper’s (LON: PXC) Redcastle cobalt asset.

Redcastle is next to First Cobalt’s Iron Creek project and east of the Toronto-based miner’s Ruby Zone cobalt-copper prospect.

Earn-in agreement into Phoenix Copper’s Redcastle asset increases the company’s land position in Idaho to over 1,820 hectares

“We believe this area shows great promise for cobalt and copper mineralization, which would complement our strategy of expanding the Iron Creek deposit and its extensions,” First Cobalt’s president and CEO, Trent Mell, said in the statement.

Phoenix Copper said the earn-in at Redcastle would enable it to focus on its base and precious metals Empire project, also in Idaho.

“This agreement, as well as the progress currently being made at our Empire mine, is supported by a strong macroeconomic environment for the materials required for sustainable energy transition,” Phoenix CEO Ryan McDermott said in a separate statement.

In its previous Idaho deal, First Cobalt increased its land position at Iron Creek by more than 100% by acquiring the West Fork property to the west for a combination of cash and shares.

Iron Creek has an indicated 2.2 million tonne resource at 0.26% cobalt and 0.61% copper, for 12.3 million pounds of cobalt and 29Mlb of copper.

It also has an inferred 2.7Mt at 0.22% cobalt and 0.68% copper for 12.7Mlb and 40Mlb respectively.

Refinery revamp

First Cobalt is looking to develop supply as it moves to commission the expansion of its cobalt refinery in Canada’s Ontario province next year.

The company has said the project would help North America reduce its reliance on China.

The country dominates the supply chain for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and also has two of the world’s top producers of the white metal — Tianqi Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium.

The US government has announced several initiatives to reduce reliance on imports of critical minerals such as cobalt. In April, the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute announced it would give First Cobalt $600,000 over two years for research on mineral processing techniques for Iron Creek.