January 24, 2018 (Source) — eCobalt Solutions Inc. (“eCobalt” or “the Company”) (TSX: ECS, OTCQX: ECSIF) wishes to provide a corporate update and advise that it is not aware of any material change in the Company’s operations that would account for recent market activity.
As previously disclosed, eCobalt is currently completing a new optimized Feasibility Study (“FS”) to reflect the change from the September 27, 2017 FS to produce a clean cobalt concentrate, a more desirable product to potential off-take partners. This change to a more upstream product has the potential to result in a significant improvement in economics for the Idaho Cobalt Project (“ICP”).
Furthermore, as a result of the recently enacted US tax reform, whereby the corporate tax rate has dropped from 35% to 21% in addition to other changes, the Company conducted an in depth review of the economic impact of these changes on the ICP. According to this review, total tax payable will drop by 21% during the life of the project. This is expected to increase net after-tax cash flows and economics of the project, with all other economic and technical assumptions remaining unchanged as reported in the September 27, 2017 FS. A more detailed analysis will be released along with the new FS in the second quarter of 2018.
An updated resource model, based on drilling conducted in 2017 with the goal of upgrading a portion of inferred resources to indicated resources, is expected to be completed in February 2018. The updated mine design will be finalized utilizing this updated resource model for the new FS.
In addition, positive discussions are ongoing with potential off-take partners. Initial testing has demonstrated that arsenic removal from ICP ore concentrates by conventional roasting methods was successful. Pilot scale testing is currently underway with results expected by the end of the first quarter of 2018 to confirm assumptions used in the new FS flowsheet. The successful testing of ICP ore to produce a clean cobalt concentrate further confirms that this direction is the fastest route to production, generation of cash-flows and reduction of price and technical risk to the project.
“The year has gotten off to a great start for eCobalt,” stated Paul Farquharson, President and CEO of the Company. “All of these ongoing activities will formulate part of the new Feasibility Study, expected in Q2 2018, and are expected to have a positive impact on the economics of the ICP and the Company moving forward. Furthermore, we have a number of key development milestones expected in 2018, as we move towards construction and mine development in the third quarter of the year.”
About eCobalt Solutions Inc.
eCobalt is a well-established Toronto Stock Exchange listed company committed to providing ethically produced, environmentally sound, battery grade cobalt products, essential for the rapidly growing rechargeable battery and renewable energy sectors, made safely, responsibly, and transparently in the United States. The Company’s ICP, located in East Central Idaho, is the only environmentally permitted, primary cobalt project in the United States. It is 100% owned by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Formation Capital Corporation, U.S.
For more information visit www.ecobalt.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements in this news release pertaining to expected financings, filings, uses of proceeds or project completion dates are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results, performance or achievement. These risks, uncertainties and factors include general business, economic, competitive, political, regulatory and social uncertainties; actual results of exploration activities and economic evaluations; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in project parameters; changes in costs, including labour, infrastructure, operating and production costs; future prices of cobalt; variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, development or mining activities, including the failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; delays in completion of exploration, development or construction activities; changes in government legislation and regulation; the ability to maintain and renew existing licenses and permits or obtain required licenses and permits in a timely manner; the ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms in a timely manner; contests over title to properties; employee relations and shortages of skilled personnel and contractors; the speculative nature of, and the risks involved in, the exploration, development and mining business.
Such projections are and will inevitably always be dependent on assumptions about future mineral prices and development costs which will be subject to fluctuation due to global and local economic and industry conditions. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements is included in filings by the Company with securities regulatory authorities and is available at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Although the Company has disclosed that the ICP remains the sole, near term, environmentally permitted, primary cobalt deposit in the United States and offers a unique potential for North American consumers to secure an ethically sourced, environmentally sound supply of battery grade cobalt products, there is no guarantee that the Company will attain commercial production of such cobalt products for use in the rechargeable battery sector. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
The statements contained in this news release in regard to eCobalt that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including eCobalt’s beliefs, expectations, hopes or intentions regarding the future. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to eCobalt as of such date. It is important to note that actual outcome and the actual results could differ from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technological, legislative, corporate, commodity price and marketplace changes.
