First Cobalt announces financing for construction of North American battery materials refinery

TORONTO — First Cobalt Corp. announces that it has arranged a combined secured convertible debt and brokered equity financing package with an aggregate value of approximately US$45 million to finance the construction of its wholly-owned hydrometallurgical refinery located in Ontario, Canada.

The financing consists of the following components:

• An 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. (“CF&Co”) (the “Note Offering”); and
• An overnight-marketed public offering of common shares in the capital of the Company (the “Offered Shares”) led by BMO Capital Markets for gross proceeds of approximately C$9.5 million (approximately US$7.5 million), at a price per Offered Share to be determined in the context of the market (the “Equity Offering”).

“This is one of our most important catalysts for the year, as this financing will allow us to advance construction of our Canadian battery material refinery,” said President & CEO Trent Mell. “Every director and officer is participating in the financing, underlining our confidence in our business strategy and strengthening our alignment with shareholders.

“Our vision is to be the most sustainable producer of battery materials, starting with North America’s only domestic supply of battery grade cobalt. Longer term, we are pursuing the creation of a Battery Park around our refinery, which would include battery recycling, nickel sulfate production and lithium-ion battery precursor manufacturing. We intend to capitalize on this first-mover advantage and leverage our position as an ultra-low carbon operation.”