Syndicated via Juniorminingnetwork
TSX:ECS
Mr. Paul Farquharson reports:
Metallurgical Testing Confirms Feasibility Level Process Flowsheet for the Cobalt Production Facility
VANCOUVER, Sept. 11, 2018 /CNW/ – eCobalt Solutions Inc. (“eCobalt” or “the Company”) (TSX:ECS) (OTCQX:ECSIF) (FRA:ECO)announces the successful completion of pilot-level metallurgical testing for the Company’s 100% owned Idaho Cobalt Project (the “ICP”), located near the town of Salmon, in the heart of the historic Idaho Cobalt Belt. The ICP remains the sole, near-term environmentally-permitted primary cobalt deposit in the United States.
Pilot-level testing conducted at Hazen Research, Inc. (“Hazen”) confirmed the arsenic removal process to produce a clean cobalt concentrate from ICP ore concentrates utilizing rotary kiln roasting methods, as demonstrated in previous bench scale testing reported in a news release dated June 25, 2018. The pilot studies concluded with a continuous run of 70 hours, including the orderly startup and shutdown of the process. ICP concentrate was fed for 50 continuous hours with process temperatures, pressures, and flow rates maintained throughout the test as designed.
The study verified both the concentrate roasting process to produce a clean concentrate and the exhaust gas management system, which safely captured and removed arsenic and sulphur from the exhaust gas stream, as designed for vitrification and neutralization, respectively.
These results validate feasibility-level detailed engineering of the simplified flowsheet for the Cobalt Production Facility (“CPF”) to produce a clean cobalt concentrate, including costing and sizing of equipment. The results support the Company’s optimization efforts to reduce technical risk, CAPEX, and OPEX of the CPF in the Optimized Feasibility Study, planned for release this quarter.
eCobalt has been working with a number of established cobalt metal traders on marketing efforts for off-take arrangements. Samples from the pilot test will be sent to parties the Company has been in discussions with, with the goal of confirming commercial terms and finalizing agreements.
“Results from the pilot testing have provided a high degree of confidence for the production of a clean, high value cobalt concentrate for potential off-take partners, further advancing current discussions,” commented Paul Farquharson, President and CEO of eCobalt. “With these results we will now proceed with finalization of the Optimized Feasibility Study, which also incorporates data from the optimized mine plan and the February 2018updated resource model into a new mineral reserve estimate. The successful conclusion to the pilot work achieves a key milestone in our development of the ICP into North America’s first primary cobalt producer.”
E.R. (Rick) Honsinger, P.Geo., Senior V.P. with eCobalt, is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
About eCobalt Solutions Inc.
eCobalt is a Toronto Stock Exchange listed company committed to providing clean 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 Idaho Cobalt Project, located in East Central Idaho in the historic Idaho Cobalt Belt, 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 metallurgical testwork, financing and construction activities 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 clean 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.
