Black mass is the industry term used to describe the material remaining once expired lithium ion batteries are shredded and all casings removed. Black mass contains high-value elements, including nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, lithium, and graphite, that once recovered, can be recycled to produce new lithium-ion batteries.
The Corporation launched its black mass demonstration plant at the end of December 2022, and has processed material in a batch mode, successfully extracting nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, lithium, and graphite. As a result of preliminary results achieved thus far and interest expressed by potential commercial partners, the Corporation has decided to extend its black mass processing and recovering activities through June 2023, beyond the Corporation’s initial target of 75 tonnes. Engineering studies will be completed to assess capital costs for permanent recycling facility adjacent to the Corporation’s cobalt refinery, leveraging existing infrastructure, buildings, equipment, permits and personnel.
All of the Corporation’s recovered material will be sold to third-party companies for additional processing and re-use in a number of applications.
Refinery Project Update
On February 14, 2023, the Corporation announced continued progress on the commissioning and construction of the Refinery. As at February 10, 2023, the Corporation has made the following key developments at the project:
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Completed all testing of existing brownfield equipment.
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Completed 90 to 95 percent of all procurement.
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Completed 90 to 95 percent of detailed engineering.
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Completed approximately 90 percent of the erection of the solvent extraction plant.
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Completed construction of the cobalt sulfate loadout facility.
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Increased the project owners’ team to 31 personnel, which include tradespeople, engineers, operators, lab technicians, and office support staff.
While constructing its crystallization circuit, the final stage in the cobalt sulfate refining process, the Corporation took delivery of a falling film evaporator vessel that was damaged in transit. Custom-built for the Corporation, the vessel is used to vaporize water from the cobalt solution before it can be crystallized into cobalt sulfate. The evaporator vessel is valued at approximately US$600,000, and measures approximately 60 feet in length and five feet in diameter. While the equipment was deemed suitable for installation, a third-party inspection has determined that onsite repairs will be required before it can be commissioned. The Corporation uses microchips throughout its refinery complex as part of the process control system to regulate equipment and integrate various circuits and systems together. Global supply shortages of microchips have resulted in delays to delivery of several process control system components. Although the Corporation has advanced the construction of its refinery project, it has been unable to progress fully on some work projects pending delivery of the process control components. As a result of the impact of critical equipment being damaged enroute to the Corporation’s complex north of Toronto and ongoing supply chain disruptions, the Corporation has withdrawn its guidance issued on August 11, 2022, and November 9, 2022, for its fourth quarter ending December 31, 2022 along with any forward-looking statements previously made on the timing of the commissioning, capital spend and production of its cobalt sulfate refinery.
In light of recent developments, the Corporation is completing a review of the refinery project scope, scheduling, and capital expenditures and expects to provide results in the coming weeks.
Convertible Note Offering
On February 14, 2023, the Corporation announced the closing of a previously announced private placement offering pursuant to which the Corporation entered into subscription agreements with investors for the issuance (the “Note Offering”) of an aggregate of US$51 million principal amount of 8.99% senior secured convertible notes due February 2028 (the “Notes”), led by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as the sole placement agent. As part of the Note Offering, the Corporation also announced that it purchased and cancelled all of the