First Cobalt Corp. (TSX-Venture:FCC) came out Tuesday with news that a scoping study for the restart of its refinery– the first in Canada -- using third-party cobalt hydroxide as feed material concluded that annual production could reach over 5,000 tonnes per annum of cobalt, more than twice the previous estimate.
The Toronto-based company adds that, by eliminating the refinery's autoclave circuit and addressing production constraints, the de-bottlenecking study by Ausenco Engineering Canada estimated the incremental capital cost to double production capacity will be $7.5 million from the previous estimate or $37.5 million in total. (All figures in U.S. dollars)
CEO Trent Mell commented: "The First Cobalt Refinery is a strategic North American asset and producing cobalt materials for the North American market is our quickest path to cash flow. The facility is in excellent condition with permits in place, good community support and a short timeline to potential production.”
Stock prices for FCC took on a penny, or 6.5%, to 16.5 cents approaching noon ET on Tuesday, on volume of 435,000 shares.
