Cruz Cobalt Corp (TSX:V:CUZ) is proving to be one of the most dynamic companies in the international cobalt space as it continues to build upon an attractive suite of assets in the USA and Canada.
Cruz was one of the earliest movers in the cobalt space, acquiring nine of the best available cobalt prospects in North America just as the bull market in cobalt was about to get underway.
Further acquisitions add to established suite of assets
The company has since proved active in making further acquisitions, and has just added significantly to its existing package of ground around Cobalt, Ontario.
Cruz was one of the earliest movers in the cobalt space, acquiring nine of the best available cobalt prospects in North America just as the bull market in cobalt was about to get underway.
In January, Cruz increased its acreage on the Purcell cobalt prospect from 671 acres to 11,821 acres.
Then, in February, it added a further 10,556 acres contiguous to the Lorraine prospect.
It all adds up to making Cruz the largest holder of ground in the historic Cobalt District of Ontario behind First Cobalt (CVE:FCC)
We plan to be very active in Ontario in 2018, says Cruz President
“We plan to be very active in Ontario in 2018,” says James Nelson, President and chief executive of Cruz Cobalt.
“Cruz is one of the single largest landholders behind First Cobalt, with 5 separate cobalt prospects in the region. We feel that consolidation of the cobalt camps globally is inevitable and we are positioning Cruz to be a significant participant in the emerging Ontario Cobalt District.”
Cruz’s Ontario projects include the 1,265 acre Coleman cobalt prospect, the 900 acre Johnson cobalt prospect, the 4,980 acre Hector cobalt prospect, the 1,580 acre Bucke cobalt prospect and now the 10,556 Lorraine cobalt prospect.
Other North American assets add strength in depth
Cruz also has two projects in British Columbia, one in Idaho and one in Montana. The company’s BC prospects include the 15,219 acre War Eagle cobalt prospect and the 11,821 acre Purcell prospect. Cruz’s USA projects include the 1,940 acre Chicken Hawk prospect in Montana and the 880 acre Idaho Star prospect.
Cobalt market set for take-off
Cobalt is a crucial metal for manufacturing high energy lithium ion batteries. Without it, long-lasting charges would not be possible.
Already, cobalt demand is growing, and strength in the cobalt market was one reason why recent results from one of the world’s biggest miners, Glencore (LON:GLEN), were so healthy. Glencore is one of the world’s biggest producers of cobalt.
But Glencore’s production, like that of most other producers, comes as a by-product of copper mining, often in unstable jurisdictions. Companies like Cruz, which have standalone cobalt assets, will be able to leverage the opportunity of increasing battery demand much more efficiently.
Demand for cobalt by 2020 is expected to be up by 30% on where it was in 2016. And that’s just the start. National governments are now publishing electric vehicle targets stretching out twenty years and more.
Cobalt miners like Cruz are thus enjoying the positive momentum being generated by both the public and the private sectors. It should be an exciting few years.