Electra Battery Materials Corporation (TSX-V:ELBM, NASDAQ:ELBM) has reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31 and issued updates on its cobalt refinery and black mass recycling trial.
“Our performance in the first quarter was marked by a number of significant milestones relating to our lithium-ion battery material recycling trial,” CEO Trent Mell said in a statement. “Most notably, we completed the first plant-scale recycling of black mass material in North America and we produced high quality lithium-carbonate, graphite, and nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide products that met or exceeded standards we achieved previously in a lab-setting.”
During the quarter, Electra completed the first plant-scale recycling of black mass material in North America and confirmed the recovery of critical metals, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and graphite, needed for the EV battery supply chain using its proprietary hydrometallurgical process.
Thus far, the company has produced high-quality nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide, graphite, and lithium carbonate products in its black mass recycling trial at its refinery complex.
“We expect to sustain this momentum with the first delivery of recycled products to customers in the coming weeks and the completion of a scoping study assessing the economic potential of black mass processing at our refinery complex north of Toronto,” Mell said.
The company posted a net loss of $21.8 million, or $0.61 per share during the quarter.
The full results and corporate update can be read here.
Cobalt refinery
Meanwhile, Electra also announced an updated capital spend estimate for its refinery complex, which is currently under construction north of Toronto.
“Consistent with our recent disclosure, we completed a re-baseline engineering report to fully determine the impacts supply chain delays, inflationary price pressures, and scope changes have had on the capital budget required to complete our cobalt refinery project,” Mell sad. “In tandem, we also completed a desktop scoping study to assess the potential economics to process black mass material from recycled lithium-ion batteries at our refinery complex.”
Using a desktop scoping study, the company estimated capital spend to be roughly US$6 million with initial rate of return of 127% and a payback period of 1-2 years. EBITDA is estimated to be between US$9.6 million and US$12.6 million per year beginning in the first full year of operations.
“As expected, the capital spend requirements for completing our refinery project have risen beyond our initial forecasts due to higher material and labor costs, scope expansion, and supply chain disruptions over the past 18 months,” Mell said.
“Development of both studies marks a significant step towards the completion of our integrated refinery complex and reduces considerable uncertainty from our efforts to secure the remaining capital needed from various stakeholders,” he added. “We can now accelerate our funding efforts with government, commercial, and strategic partners, and prioritize the processing of black mass material given the anticipated payback of less than two years and estimated EBITDA of US$10 million per year,”
Additional costs to complete the refinery project include US$18.8 million for solvent extraction and crystallization mechanical equipment, US$7.4 million for indirect construction costs, US$7.3 million for equipment replacement and installation, US$5.7 million for construction management and permit costs, US$4.1 million for engineering and procurement ans US$3.7 million for higher freight rates.
Electra expects to require additional capital to complete construction and final commissioning. As of March 31, Electra held cash and marketable securities totaling $12.9 million.
More details on the desktop scoping study can be found here.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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