American Battery Technology Company (OTCQB:ABML) says it has US$20.9 million cash in hand for its first fiscal quarter 2023, ending on September 30, 2022, and that total operating costs were down 87% year-over-year.
The critical battery materials company said the decrease in costs was due largely to a reduction of $17 million in stock issued for professional services, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2021.
The Reno, Nevada-based company said it invested $0.5 million in research and development, offset by $0.3 million in grant income, up by 140% from the prior year.
READ: American Battery Technology Company gains $57M grant towards building commercial scale lithium manufacturing facility in Nevada
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) CEO Ryan Melsert said: "We are excited to be completing the construction of our ground-up, internally designed battery recycling facility and to be moving into the installation and commissioning of our processing and utility equipment."
During the quarter, ABTC said it has continued the construction of its lithium-ion battery recycling pilot plant in Fernley, Nevada, while also investing in the development of its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project near Tonopah, Nevada. These projects are key to accelerating the commercialization and scale-up of ABTC's first-of-kind, low-cost, and low-environmental impact lithium-ion battery recycling and primary battery metals manufacturing processes, according to the company.
"There is immense demand for domestic-US sourced recycled battery metals, and we are engaging with our strategic partners to deliver these products to market as rapidly as possible," Melsert said in a statement.
ABTC said it expects the first fiscal quarter operating expenses to reflect its run-rate operating expenses, until the pilot plant begins operations.
The company said it has also increased investment in research and development in the extraction of critical minerals through its advanced hydrometallurgical process for recycling lithium-ion batteries and its extraction and manufacturing of lithium hydroxide from its claystone resources. These investments are offset by grants previously awarded to ABTC by the US Advanced Battery Consortium and the US Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office.
Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the company said it was selected for a competitive award from the US DOE through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for approximately $57 million to support the construction of its commercial-scale primary lithium hydroxide manufacturing facility to develop its unconventional, sedimentary claystone resource near Tonopah.
The company said it also intends to advance the development of its lithium-bearing sedimentary claystone deposit with an SK-1300 compliant Inferred Resource report during Fall 2022.
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