First Cobalt Refinery is the only licensed cobalt refinery facility in North America, says First Cobalt. Photo courtesy of First Cobalt Corp.

First Cobalt Corp. and Glencore AG announced an agreement to a term sheet on Monday that outlined the framework to recommission the First Cobalt Refinery in Ontario.

Trent Mell, First Cobalt President & Chief Executive Officer sees this signing as an important step to setting clear long-term goals for the refinery.

“This partnership will help First Cobalt achieve its stated objective of providing ethically sourced battery grade cobalt for the North American electric vehicle market,” said Mell. “An operating refinery in North America can benefit all North American cobalt projects, as it significantly reduces the capital cost of putting a new mine into production."