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First Cobalt closes us$45M financing for its North American battery materials refinery

TORONTO — First Cobalt Corp. announces that it has closed its previously announced debt and equity financing for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$45 million. The financing consisted of (i) a private placement offering to United States investors (the Note Offering) of US$37.5 million principal amount of 6.95% senior secured convertible notes due December 1, 2026 (the Notes), led by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (Cantor), as sole placement agent; and (ii) an overnight-marketed public offering (the Equity Offering) led by BMO Capital Markets (BMO), as sole agent, of 38,150,000 common shares of the Company (Common Shares) at a price of C$0.25 per Common Share for total gross proceeds of over C$9.5 million (approximately US$7.5 million). The Notes are convertible into Common Shares at an initial conversion rate of 4,058.24 Common Shares per US$1,000 principal amount of Notes, subject to certain adjustments set forth in the indenture governing the Notes.

“With the completion of this financing, the First Cobalt project team can now accelerate long lead equipment orders for our Canadian battery materials refinery as we pursue our vision of becoming the most sustainable producer of battery materials,” said President & CEO Trent Mell.

“Our immediate objective is to become the only producer of battery grade cobalt in North America by Q4 2022. Thereafter, we intend to produce nickel, cobalt, lithium and other battery materials from recycled lithium-ion batteries. Longer term, we are pursuing the creation of a Battery Park around our low-carbon hydrometallurgical refinery, which would include nickel sulfate production from primary feeds and lithium-ion battery precursor manufacturing.”

The Company intends to use the aggregate net proceeds of the Offering for capital expenditures associated with the expansion and recommissioning of its wholly-owned hydrometallurgical refinery located in Ontario, Canada, including buildings, equipment, infrastructure, and other direct costs, as well as engineering and project management costs.